Childhood's End
by MZephyr
Summary: RanmaxAkane. Everyone has to grow up sometime.
1. Childhood

**Childhood's End  
By M. Zephyr**

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. Everyone has to grow up sometime.

Warning: This story is for mature audiences only. There is nothing extremely explicit, but sexual themes and suggestive descriptions are present. The second chapter is the most intense in that regard.

* * *

**Chapter 1. Childhood**

It was summer in Japan, and in a private residence in the Nerima ward of Tokyo, seven people were gathered for dinner. At the head of the table was Soun Tendo, father and head of the household, dressed in a brown gi as usual. Genma Saotome, his old friend and one-time fellow student of the martial arts, and Nodoka Saotome, Genma's wife, were seated to his left. Genma and Nodoka currently resided in Soun's house as more or less permanent guests. Genma was a panda bear at the moment, the result of a curse picked up in China well over two years ago.

Nabiki Tendo, the middle of Soun's three daughters, sat beside Nodoka. Nabiki had recently completed her first term at Tokyo University. While she ate, she was trying to concentrate on the financial news from the radio beside her, listening via an earbud in one ear.

At the end of the table opposite her father was Kasumi Tendo, the oldest of Soun's three daughters. She had taken over the household duties while still a young girl, after the death of her mother. Now she was a composed and self-contained young woman of twenty-one.

Kasumi was the only one of these five who was currently able to display any degree of serenity. The other four all bore varying expressions of pained irritation. The source of the discord was an argument which raged on the final side of the table. There sat the youngest members of the combined households, Soun Tendo's youngest daughter, Akane, and Ranma Saotome, only child of Genma and Nodoka, and Akane's presumed fiancé.

After the horrifying events in China five months past, everyone had expected that the pair would settle down and learn to get along. However, these hopes had clearly been premature. In the aftermath of the disastrous, and failed, attempt at a wedding, Akane and Ranma had quickly resumed their regular bouts of insults, arguments and fighting.

"Well what am I supposed to think when you let that Chinese bimbo hang all over you?" Akane was shouting.

"Dammit, I wasn't letting her!" Ranma shouted right back. "She grabbed onto me! I couldn't get her to let go!"

"As if! You know you were enjoying it, you pervert!" There were resigned winces around the table. Everyone had known it wouldn't be long before Akane started using the P-word. "I saw the way she was flaunting her chest, rubbing herself against you!"

Ranma glared at the girl beside him. "I didn't ask her to! Hell, I didn't want her to! 'Course, you're probably just jealous that she's got something to flaunt and you don't, you flat-chested tomboy!"

Akane saw red. She was _not_ flat-chested, but Ranma always insulted her by telling her how much she fell short of female ideals. Picking up a glass of water she drenched the boy, while smirking and loudly proclaiming, "Well, I guess you'd know all about not being flat-chested, huh?"

The water had of course activated Ranma's own curse, transforming him into a very buxom, red-haired girl. "Whaddya do that for, you stupid, macho chick! Do you think ..."

All other sound was cut off by the thunderclap of two hands slamming into the table, rattling all of the dishes. All eyes turned to Nabiki, whose face glowered in a rare display of anger rather than her normal icy amusement. The shouting had caused her to miss several important items of information from the radio for which she had been specifically listening.

"That ... is ... _enough_!" Nabiki shouted at the two teenagers on the other side of the table. "The two of you are supposed to be eighteen years old, but anyone listening to you would think you were eight instead! It's the same tired, recycled arguments every time; can't you at least come up with something new?! Ranma's going to tell Akane she doesn't know how to act like a girl. Akane's going to tell Ranma that at least she is a girl, and not some sex-changing pervert. Ranma's going to say something about how good the food is and how glad he is that Akane didn't cook tonight. Akane's going to give up on words and smash him over the head with something. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were two children on the playground who don't know any other way to show that they like each other. I have _had_ it! Why don't you two just _grow up_!"

The irate girl rose swiftly to her feet and stormed out of the room, then up the stairs to her bedroom. Everyone heard a door slam.

Ranma turned to Akane, very puzzled, and asked, "What was that all about?"

Akane regarded him blankly, then shrugged her shoulders and returned to her meal. "I have no idea. Maybe she had a headache or something."

Kasumi and the three parents watched as the young couple started eating serenely. For all anyone could tell, the argument a minute ago might never have happened.

* * *

Although he hadn't truly understood the cause of her outburst, the things which Nabiki had yelled at him were still troubling Ranma long after dinner was over and done with. It seemed as if there was something important in her little speech, but he just couldn't quite get it. Of course he always argued with Akane. It wasn't as if anyone had ever asked if he wanted to be engaged to her, let alone trying to force them into a marriage. So what if he kinda, sorta, you know, that L-word ... loved her. He wasn't ready for marriage, and he had to make sure she understood that.

Still, he felt as if there was something more, something contained in Nabiki's words that was important. It occurred to him that if he couldn't figure it out for himself, the easiest thing to do would be to ask her. The problem was, trying to get information from Nabiki was apt to be expensive. Hesitantly, he knocked on her bedroom door. At the curt command "come in" he slowly opened the door and slipped inside.

"Er, hi Nabiki," he began nervously.

"Hi yourself, Saotome. Come to apologize for your behavior at dinner?"

Ranma rubbed the back of his head. "Well, not exactly. I guess ... I was wondering if you might ... explain what you were saying? I feel like there was something there I missed."

Nabiki eyed her potential brother-in-law speculatively. "Normally I charge for any kind of instruction or information. You know that."

Ranma gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I know. I, uh, don't have any money right now."

Nabiki sighed. "Do you ever? Okay, look, just this once I'll tell you for free. Mostly because if I can get this through your head, maybe I'll have fewer headaches in future, like the one I have right now. Just don't tell anybody I didn't charge you."

"Uh, right."

The girl grinned maliciously. "Now don't interrupt. I've got several things to say, and a lot of it's going to embarrass you and you're going to want to deny it. Don't. We'll take the denials as already said, and if you interrupt me I'm going to stop talking. Okay?"

Ranma settled to the floor, looking at her curiously. "Okay."

A thoughtful expression crossed Nabiki's face, as she looked into her memories. "You and Akane were engaged against your will. We all know that. But instead of blaming the guilty parties, our fathers, you've both been taking it out on each other. I still haven't figured out the reason for that. The two of you have been fighting ever since, even though everyone around could see that you were falling for each other."

Ranma shifted nervously but, true to his promise, kept silent.

"When the two of you got back from China," Nabiki went on, wincing as she remembered her own fears for her sister, "you couldn't keep your eyes off of one another. It was as if you were both afraid the other would no longer be there if you did. Our fathers, naturally, decided this meant the time was right to get the two of you married. We all know how successful that was. Apparently that was enough to get you past the shock of whatever happened in China, and put you back in the old modes of behavior. Insults. Arguments. You know, all the ways you act to keep from being pushed together."

Ranma nodded thoughtfully, and Nabiki wondered if for once she might actually be getting something through his skull. She continued.

"You two act the same way that two little kids act, when they like each other but don't want to show it. They argue and fight. Except that you're inhibited when it comes to hitting girls, so the violence is mostly in one direction, from Akane to you. You make up for it though by being a lot more harsh with your insults. Sometimes it sounds like you want to destroy any self image she has as a girl."

"No I don't," Ranma muttered, as if to himself.

"You could have fooled me, Saotome," Nabiki replied severely. "Uncute, unsexy, macho, thighs are too thick, built like a brick, ... Do any of those sound familiar? You don't want to be married yet, so instead of coming up with any effective way of dealing with our fathers, you go all childish and try to push Akane away instead. Of course, she's just as bad. It's as if the two of you have no idea how to behave like normal teenagers who like each other. Why aren't you arguing with your parents while the two of you sneak off to smooch in private, or ... or even more? That would be normal. If it weren't for the evidence of our eyes, I'd say that the two of you never reached puberty."

Ranma felt himself blushing at the image of himself and Akane kissing. It was such a scary idea, yet somehow attractive at the same time.

Nabiki snorted at the sight of his rosy cheeks. "See, that's part of what I'm talking about. Look at how you're blushing just at the thought of kissing her. Akane's the same way. You've known each other, been engaged to each other, for over two years, and you've been secretly attracted to each other for almost as long. You _almost_ kissed during that ice skating mess shortly after you came here. But you still haven't kissed, in all that time. Well, except for that one time when you were in the neko-ken. Which doesn't count," she added quickly. "I'm not saying the two of you should be doing the deed in her bed, but never to have kissed, in all that time? Given how you both really feel about each other? That speaks to me of two people who are seriously intent on not becoming adults."

Nabiki crossed her arms and glared at him, more out of habit than any real animus. "Well, any of this get through to you, Saotome?"

It was clear that the freebie was over. Ranma stood up. "Thanks, Nabiki. I guess. Not sure what I'm gonna do about all that, but ... thanks."

Nabiki waved airily. "Sure thing, Saotome. Anything for a little peace and quiet around here, especially during the financial report. Next time, though, make sure to bring cash with you."

* * *

"Oneechan, may I speak with you?"

At the sound of the quiet, timid question, Kasumi paused in her tidying up to look at her youngest sister standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Of course, Akane, come in and have a seat," Kasumi replied cheerfully. She dried her hands, and pulled out a chair for herself.

Akane bit her lower lip. "It's ... it's about the things that Nabiki said at dinnertime. About Ranma and me acting like children. I mean, sure, Ranma's pretty childish, but I'm not ... am I?"

Kasumi carefully considered all possible responses, then sighed, discarding the option of a comforting "of course not." Perhaps Akane did need to hear this. "Well, yes, I'm afraid you are, little sister." She watched as Akane closed her eyes in pain, but steeled herself and went on. "We all know that you love Ranma, and that he feels the same way about you. No," she added quickly, cutting off the automatic response. "Don't bother to deny it." Akane closed her mouth on the protest which was on her lips.

Kasumi continued. "We've all heard your denials, more times than we really care to, I'm afraid. But actions speak louder than words, and your actions, and Ranma's, have clearly revealed just how you feel about each other.

"However, for whatever reason, you seem determined not to get any closer. Or at least, not to allow your relationship to grow beyond a point which, as Nabiki said, is rather reminiscent of two eight year olds on the playground. I would have hoped that by now you would be acting a little more maturely. Yet you continue to prefer arguments and fighting."

"It's all that baka's fault," Akane muttered.

"No it is not," Kasumi told her sternly. "Much of it is, yes, but you are equally to blame. At first I thought that your behavior was due to the way you were treated by the boys at school. Emotional scars that were taking time to heal properly, if you understand what I mean. I can't really believe that anymore - too much time has passed. It sometimes seems as if your emotional development has been frozen, as if you stopped growing emotionally when you reached puberty. I'm sorry if that sounds rather harsh, but that is how it looks to me.

"Just for example, while I myself do not condone improper behavior, your obsession with labeling _any_ ... interaction ... between males and females as perverted is hardly a sign of maturity."

Akane looked like she was about to start crying. "It's just ... the thought of doing something like that, it scares me. Even with Ranma."

Kasumi reached over and patted her youngest sister on the shoulder. "I know little one, but in a way that's another sign of what I'm talking about. It's natural enough to feel a little fear about those sorts of things before you experience them, but you've taken it to quite an unhealthy degree. You should have started to grow past that at some point in the last few years.

"Now please understand that this isn't all about you. Ranma, for whatever reasons, has just as much growing up to do. He doesn't have any more idea of how to behave properly toward you, than you seem to have toward him. I used to think that if our fathers would leave the two of you alone for a while, that would remove some of the pressure, and the two of you could start working past some of your differences. However, they haven't really been pushing you much since the failed wedding attempt, and you still don't seem to be making much progress."

Akane turned a helpless look on her older sister. "So what's the answer, Kasumi? What should I do?"

Here Kasumi's wisdom ran out. "I don't really know. Maybe you should talk to some sort of counselor, though I hardly know where we'd find the money for it. Doctor Tofu probably knows about that sort of thing, though. Perhaps you should start by talking to him, ask him if he could recommend someone?"

Akane sighed deeply. "I'll think about it," she said quietly, then stood and left the room.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Akane and Ranma both found themselves reflecting on these conversations again and again. They tried convincing themselves that Nabiki and Kasumi had been exaggerating matters, and that their own behavior was perfectly reasonable. However, their eyes had been opened. The more they thought about it, the more they could see the differences between themselves and their friends. It became impossible to pretend, at least to themselves, that there was nothing wrong.

Ranma wanted to get another man's perspective on the things Nabiki had said, but the problem with that was deciding whom he could trust to talk to about this. Finding anyone in Nerima, male or not, to whom he could dare express himself openly was no simple task. In the end, he thought of Doctor Tofu. Ranma figured that as long as he avoided mentioning Kasumi's name, they might be able to have a useful discussion.

Akane, on the other hand, was spared the struggle of deciding to whom to talk. Kasumi had suggested Doctor Tofu, and Akane agreed with this suggestion. She just needed to work up her courage. It promised to be a very difficult conversation.

* * *

So it happened that three days after Nabiki's explosion at dinner, Akane and Ranma each came to the separate decision to stop by the Ono clinic. Ranma set off first, but he took a meandering path there, hoping to avoid interruptions by anyone who might complicate matters. He was hoping that this wasn't really necessary, even though deep down he knew it was. Akane started later, but took a more direct route. By pure chance they arrived in front of the clinic at the same time, approaching from opposite directions. Both were surprised to see the other there, as they nervously said hello and stood awkwardly in place.

"So, uh, you here to see the doc?" Ranma asked, when it was clear that Akane wasn't going to continue down the street.

"Uh-huh," Akane replied. "How about you? Are you here to see him, too? Did you get hurt in a fight or something?"

"Uh, no, just want to talk to the doc about something." Ranma was starting to play with his pigtail, a sure sign of nervousness.

"Oh, well, um, in that case, I'll just ... um ... okay." Akane wasn't sure what to do. She didn't think that she'd be able to talk to Doctor Tofu if Ranma was here. Even if it did, sort of, involve him as well.

"Er, well," Ranma didn't really want to tell her why he was there, but then wondered if this might be an example of what Nabiki had been talking about. That he acted like a child. Before he lost his nerve, he blurted, "Just wanted to talk about some of what Nabiki said the other night."

"Oh," Akane answered quietly. She thought about the fact that it might not demonstrate much maturity if she couldn't admit to something that Ranma just had, so managed to barely squeeze out, "Me too."

Ranma blinked at that, then licked dry lips. "So, um, should we, uh, talk to him about it together?"

Akane was finding her toes rather interesting. "I ... suppose we might as well."

They went inside and, after exchanging their shoes for slippers, asked the receptionist if they could speak to the doctor. She told them to take a seat, and for the next half hour they nervously flipped through magazines, as an alternative to talking to one another. Finally the door opened, and Doctor Tofu was smiling down at them. "Akane! Ranma! How nice to see you. Please, come in."

They stood and followed him back to his office, each taking one of the chairs there, very carefully not looking at each other. Tofu seated himself in the more comfortable swivel chair located behind an overflowing desk. Interestingly, it was overflowing not with modern medical texts, but with ancient scrolls and similar documents.

"What can I do for you today?" Tofu asked cheerfully.

Both teenagers remained silent, waiting for the other one to speak first. They cast occasional glances at one another, but still neither one broke the silence. Finally Tofu started to draw his own conclusions from their behavior and asked sympathetically, "Akane, are you afraid that you might be pregnant?"

Both Akane and Ranma flushed absolutely scarlet. "No!" Akane choked out. "We haven't ..."

In an equally strained voice, Ranma said, "It ain't nothing like that, doc!"

"Oh." Tofu regarded them thoughtfully. "Well, then, perhaps you should tell me what _is_ on your minds."

Ranma managed to begin. "Nabiki said something a few nights ago, about Akane and me behaving like young children who never grew up. That the way we behave around one another ain't the way that people our age would be expected to. Don't know if I agree with her or not, or how I _oughta_ act if she's right. I thought maybe I could come and talk to you about it."

Akane began in a whisper, then cleared her throat and tried again a little louder. "I was talking to Kasumi about it later, as well. She agreed with Nabiki, and seemed to think that maybe some sort of counseling might help. She thought that maybe you could suggest how to find somebody."

Tofu's eyebrows had risen quite a bit at these admissions. "I know that you both were rather shy when you first met. Do you really feel it might be as serious as that? Do you both feel there are problems in the way you act which should be fixed?"

Akane looked off into the distance. "Well, we're able to behave like regular people most of the time. Eating dinner together, talking, that sort of thing. But other than that ... the only other way we ever act around one another is arguing and fighting. Especially if ... especially if it looks like one of us might be about to say or do something ... you know, about our relationship."

Ranma fought past his embarrassment to say, "Nabiki seemed to think it was important that Akane and I have never ... um ... kissed." He was praying fervently that Akane wouldn't hit him for saying that.

Akane just looked down at her lap, blushing. "Kasumi suggested that I overreact whenever I start thinking about those sorts of things. I get scared." She gave a guilty, sideways look at Ranma before adding, "And I generally take it out on Ranma while calling him a pervert."

Tofu was rather surprised to hear all this. He had seen the first signs of attraction between the pair over two years ago. It did seem unusual that after all this time, they had not so much as kissed, even in private. They were both eighteen now. At the very least, they ought to be able to _talk_ about their relationship. Still, it might not be anything beyond extreme shyness on both of their parts, coupled with a continuing fear that the other might not feel the same way. That wouldn't be so surprising considering their past histories. On the whole, Kasumi's suggestion about counseling was probably a good one.

On the other hand, it never hurt to cover all the bases. Perhaps they were both merely two very late bloomers, despite their apparent physical maturity. Tofu calmly said, "Akane, I want to check something. Please hold still for a moment." The doctor stood and walked over to her, then placed his fingertips gently on either side of her face. He concentrated on feeling the flow of chi in her body, in an effort to determine if it matched her physical maturity. He managed not to show his shock as he realized that there was something subtly wrong with her chi.

Tofu spoke again. "Akane, would you please imagine yourself kissing Ranma?" The girl blushed but said nothing. Tofu maintained his professional demeanor as he felt the girl's mixed emotions concerning what she was thinking, but frowned at how her chi reacted.

Stepping away, he turned to Ranma and said, "I'd like to try the same thing with you, Ranma." He repeated what he had done with Akane, finding much the same thing. He puzzled over what he had perceived as he walked back behind his desk and sat down.

The aberration he detected in their chi worried him. Tofu considered how he could confirm his observations, both for himself and for their own sakes. "I need to ask the two of you some very personal, embarrassing questions. I think you would be more comfortable if I ask you one at a time, with the other out of the room."

Ranma and Akane turned to regard one another. Something passed between them in that look. It was one of those times when things clicked, and they knew without speech that they were in this together. Ranma stated, "Doc, Akane and I were almost married a few months ago. I think we can handle whatever it is. Let 'er rip." Akane nodded her head in agreement.

Tofu's mouth twisted in what might have been a grin. "All right, if you say so. Ranma, how much have you fantasized about having sex with Akane? Or with any girl, for that matter?"

Both teenagers blushed heavily, thinking that perhaps they should have listened to Tofu about doing this separately. Ranma had to clear his throat a couple of times before answering, and he watched Akane warily out of the corner of his eye while he did so.

"Well, I ... I ... o'course I _thought_ about it. I mean, they almost got us _married_. If they had, we'da had to _do_ it. The idea was, uh, kinda scary."

Tofu drummed his fingertips on his desk, eyeing Ranma pensively. He decided to be blunt. "I didn't ask if you had thought about it. I asked if you had _fantasized_ about it. Have you imagined it taking place, thought over the images, enjoyed the arousal? In particular, how often have you masturbated, in either of your forms, while imagining such things?" He cocked his head slightly, thinking over Ranma's upbringing. "I assume you know what the term means?"

It might not have seemed possible for the faces of the two young people to grow any more crimson, but somehow they managed it. Ranma choked out, "Yeah, I ... uh, know what it means. Some of the guys at school talk about it. Uh ..." Ranma whispered another prayer that Akane wouldn't clobber him or say something nasty. "I, uh, yeah ... I tried it. Once. Not for long. Just to see what the fuss was about. Uh ... for what it's worth, I still don't see."

Tofu asked seriously, "May I assume from what you said that you didn't reach orgasm?"

Ranma squirmed. "Uh, is that where the guy ..." He made a motion with his hand, moving outward from his groin. Tofu nodded, and Ranma responded, "Then, uh, no."

The doctor sighed, seeing his fears confirmed. He turned to Akane, as she had been dreading he would. "The same questions for you Akane."

She shook her head and whispered, "No, never. I mean, like Ranma, I, uh, thought about it. But not ..." She was unable to continue.

Tofu leaned back, giving the ceiling a troubled stare. He wondered how this had come to pass, and most especially, how it was that _both_ of the teenagers in front of him had suffered this ... malfunction.

"Well ..." He cleared his throat and started again. "I'll need to do some research to see if I can find any similar cases, and how to correct the situation." He sighed and stood, signaling that the interview was at an end. "You were right to worry."

Akane and Ranma exchanged puzzled glances.

"But ... what's wrong with us?" Akane asked anxiously.

Doctor Tofu looked surprised. "Didn't I say? No, I suppose I didn't. Ah well, what I've just learned ..." He shook his head in self recrimination. "I can't believe that I never noticed it in any of my previous examinations." He steadied himself in order to explain without upsetting his young patients more than necessary.

"In both of your cases, your chi is not flowing as I would expect for someone of your age. It is much more like that of a child who has not yet reached puberty. The difference is rather subtle, and therefore easily overlooked. Not that it makes me feel any better that I _did_ overlook it. It's very puzzling; I've never seen anything like it before. It's as if your bodies matured, but your spirits, your minds, haven't. What is really strange is that you're both affected."

The couple regarded one another, wondering if perhaps the other one was to blame for the situation they were in. Tofu saw this and said, "I really don't think it's likely that either of you caused this condition in the other. I don't see how it could be contagious. And anyway, the answers you gave to my question indicate that this has likely been a problem since before the two of you met."

Akane asked, "Do you really think you can find out how to fix it? And what will happen to us if you do?"

The doctor shrugged, wishing he could give a more positive answer. "Honestly, Akane, I don't know. Like I said, I've never encountered anything like it before. If we do find a cure, the effect is likely to be profound. Your minds would suddenly be operating in a different manner. In some ways, it would almost be like going through puberty overnight. I hesitate to guess what the implications might be."

"Anything else you can tell us, doc?" Ranma inquired. When Tofu shook his head, the boy added, "All right. Thanks for figuring out part of the problem anyway, and for anything else you can learn. At least it's good to know that there's a reason, rather than just the two of us being too stubborn to grow up."

Ranma stood and bowed to the doctor, then waited for Akane to do the same. As they walked out the door of his office, Tofu took off his glasses and polished them. He had no clue where to start looking for an answer to this problem.

* * *

As they walked down the road back in the direction of the Tendo home, Akane and Ranma were both finding it difficult to look at one another. "So, we're both really children at heart, huh?" Ranma said, trying for a light-hearted tone. He wasn't entirely successful.

"What are we going to do, Ranma?" Akane asked, sounding worried. "I mean, we can try to fight less, but that doesn't really solve anything. I'd like to get married ... I mean, uh, to marry someone, someday. But what Tofu said makes it sound like I'd never be able to be ... be a real adult, for, uh, whoever I marry."

Ranma glanced over at her, and took a breath. He felt scared of admitting such things, afraid of how she would react, but now he had learned that some of that fear was due to a problem, something that was wrong with him. That made it a challenge, and he hated to lose when challenged. So he fought down his own terror to reach over and grab hold of Akane's hand, then said, "I'd like to marry you, too, someday. At least, I think so. If you want to. If we can fix this. Damn, I meant to sound a lot more confident than this."

Akane giggled, although there were tears in her eyes. "Thanks, baka."

Ranma turned to look at her again, and she heard the tremor in his voice, serious though he sounded. "Do you think we should risk talking to Cologne about this? Despite the fact she caught me a few days ago, I've been trying pretty hard to avoid Shampoo the last few months. But Cologne knows an awful lot about chi and stuff."

Akane bit her lip and looked scared. "I don't know, Ranma. I don't trust her. What if she fixes you, but makes me worse? Or finds some way to twist whatever's wrong to force you to come with her? I'd rather wait to see if Tofu can find anything before trying that."

Ranma thought about it, then nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I just hate sitting around and waiting, especially when we don't know how long it might be." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "This is such a screwed up mess, it sounds almost like the result of one of my pop's schemes."

He took a few more steps, then added in a completely different and firmer tone of voice, "You know, it _does_ sound exactly like something my pop might have done. Except ... that wouldn't explain why you're affected."

Akane looked over at him, then looked at the road ahead again, thoughtful. "It might, you know. Daddy's done some silly things in the past, too. And we know they've done some things together. Like that agreement that got us engaged in the first place."

"Maybe ..." Ranma was beginning to feel like this idea had a ring of truth to it. "It certainly seems like the simplest explanation for why we're _both_ affected. But how are we going to find out for sure? If we ask them about it, they'll just deny everything."

"I don't know. Hmm. Suppose you didn't know you'd been put through the neko-ken training, but were beginning to suspect something. Is there any way you would have been able to learn the truth? People you could ask he might have confided in or something?"

"Actually, that one's pretty easy ..." Ranma trailed off, then smiled. "That was smart of you, Akane. I was gonna say, he recorded the neko-ken training in his journal. If we can get to his journals for a while, without anyone bothering us, maybe we can find something. Since you're affected too, it'd probably be something that happened before he took me away from home. Not that we won't look in the later ones if we don't find something, but that would be where we should start."

Akane had stopped and stared at him, causing Ranma to stop as well, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. "If you knew how to get hold of your father's journals, why haven't you gone through them before? You might have learned about things like Ukyo."

Ranma squirmed. "Well, it wouldn't have been right. They're _his_ journals, not something I should be prying through. It's like somebody reading _your_ diary, right? Besides, I'm not sure I _want_ to know if there's more surprises like that waiting out there for me. But this time it affects us both, and we gotta know, and I don't trust the old man to tell us."

Akane shook her head over her fiancé's sometimes unpredictable sense of honor. "Okay. Let's get home and see if we can figure some way to get those journals away from him without his noticing it."

* * *

"We're home!" Akane called out as they stepped through the door and removed their shoes.

Kasumi poked her head out of the kitchen door, drying her hands on a towel. "Hello Akane, Ranma. Oh, Ranma, your parents have gone out and won't be back until supper time. Your mother received word that the repairs on her house are finally complete, and they went over there to check on it."

"Thanks Kasumi," Ranma told her. As the older girl stepped back into the kitchen, Ranma whispered in an aside to Akane, "Now that's pretty convenient. Maybe some kami is watching out for us. Let's head upstairs and get to work."

"So where does your father keep his journals?" Akane asked at they entered the guest room. "For that matter, how do you know where they are?"

The boy turned a disgusted look on her. "Give me a break, Akane. We share a room, and we're talking about _journals_. That means he writes in 'em regularly, at least the current one. While we were on the road he just kept it in the bottom of his pack. Now he's got a locked chest he keeps 'em in." Ranma reached down and pulled a chest out of the closet.

Akane was looking a little sheepish. "But if it's locked, how are we going to get to them? If you smash the chest, he'll know what you were doing."

Ranma snorted. "Remember who I have for an old man, Akane." He went back over to the closet and fished around in Genma's pack, coming back with a small wire. He inserted this into the hole in the lock and started wiggling it around.

"You know how to pick a lock?" Akane asked breathlessly.

"Of course," he responded nonchalantly. "At least, if it ain't too complicated. And pop ain't Nabiki, who's got the sense to spend a little extra on a strong safe to protect her secrets." There was a click from the lock and the lid of the chest lifted to reveal its contents.

The dark-haired girl gave him a bright smile. "Consider me suitably impressed, Ranma Saotome. Now let's get to work."

Ranma pulled out several journals, and flipped through them looking at dates. He set aside two that predated the start of their fateful training trip, then gave one to Akane before opening the other and starting to read. Silence reigned in the room for the next couple of hours, except for the occasional spontaneous comment such as "Oh my God!" or "I don't believe it!" or "Pop, I'm gonna kill you!"

Finally Akane excitedly reported, "Ranma, I think I've found something!"

Putting his own journal down carefully so as not to lose his place, Ranma gave her his full attention.

Akane read slowly, the writing having faded over the years. "The date is from when you and I were five years old. It says, 'That old bore Kurosawa here at the temple ...' Uh ..." Akane scanned back to a previous entry. "That's some temple near the town of Ikawa in Akita. Anyway, "... here at the temple mentioned a ritual used in the past. It is supposed to allow the person who performed the ritual to exercise additional authority over the subject for the rest of his life. The only catch is - it can only be performed on young children. He even showed me the scroll. That night I borrowed and copied the scroll, then put it back. I'll be returning home soon, and we'll see how it works on Ranma.'"

"Well, I suppose that might have something to do with it," Ranma agreed tentatively.

"Wait, there's more," Akane told him. "A few entries further along. Yada yada. Here. 'I performed the ritual on Ranma a few days ago, and it seems to have worked. He still protests sometimes, but he is much more inclined to do as he is told when I press. The control is imperfect, and works best when he is not seriously opposed, but it has made him easier to handle. I think I shall pass this along to my friend Tendo. I fear that only his youngest is still young enough to undergo the rite, but I hear that she has been proving quite a handful to him. Besides, one day we might need such control to make sure we are able to convince two of our children to marry and unite the schools.'" Akane looked at Ranma. "What do you think?"

Ranma considered. "Some sort of magic ritual that was performed on both of us. You're right, that might explain this mess. Although it don't sound like it worked as well on us as they hoped, whether or not it caused the problem the doc saw. I wonder if we can find that temple ..." He paused, thoughtful. "Akita ain't exactly next door, but it might be worth trying. First though, I suppose we oughta be thorough and finish going through these. Just in case that ain't the explanation and there's something else here to be found."

Akane sighed, disappointed that she would have to return to deciphering the faded writing. "I guess you're right. Still, I'm feeling more hopeful now than I was earlier."

Ranma nodded, returning to the journal in front of him.

* * *

Nothing else had been found before dinner, and the two teenagers had taken the time to discuss what to do about the clue they had discovered, the ritual they had read about. It hadn't take them long to decide to sneak away to the temple in Akita, to see if they could find any answers there. Promising to get together that evening to pack and make further plans, they went their separate ways to prepare for dinner.

During the meal, both Akane and Ranma managed to school their faces and not reveal their inner turmoil to any of their parents. In truth, Kasumi and Nabiki both guessed that something was wrong, but only assumed that the two of them had gotten into another argument.

Ranma hid his pack in Akane's room to keep his father from seeing it and guessing that something was up. Very early the next morning, while Kasumi was in the kitchen and before anyone else was up to see him slipping into Akane's room, they took their packs out through Akane's window and hid them behind the dojo. Ranma helped Akane back in through the window, then the two of them came downstairs together, a bit earlier than usual.

After eating breakfast, they told Kasumi that they were going out for a while and would be back later. They left by the front gate, whereupon Ranma hopped over the side wall to retrieve their packs and the two quickly made their way to the train station. With any luck, it would be a few hours, at least, before anyone found the note left in Akane's room. The note which said they would be back in a few days.

The trip to Akita was uneventful, and they reached Ikawa by late afternoon. There weren't many temples in the area, and the first person they asked, an elderly person they saw coming out of the post office, actually recognized the name of Kurosawa. He told them that Kurosawa was still a priest and gave them directions to the temple. With rising hope the young couple made their way there.

As they entered the building, an old man in the robes of a priest came out of a side doorway and spotted them. "Greetings. May I be of service in any way?"

"We are looking for a priest by the name of Kurosawa," Akane told him, trying to tamp down the eagerness in her voice.

The old man smiled. "Then I am the one you seek. What may I do for you?"

The two teens smiled in relief at having found the priest so easily. Ranma made introductions. "My name is Ranma Saotome, and this is my fiancée Akane Tendo." He paused as he took in the look of astonishment on the old man's face, then looked down at his female body and flushed. "Um, sorry, forgot about that idiot emptying the pail of water on me a few minutes ago."

Akane tried to fill in. "Ranma has a curse that changes him into a girl whenever he's splashed with cold water. As soon as we can get some hot water, he'll change back into a boy." She shrugged. "I'm sure that sounds a bit crazy, but we're both so used to it that sometimes we don't even notice."

Ranma looked around. "Can we sit down somewhere?" he asked diffidently. "We need to talk to you about something that happened around thirteen years ago, give or take. Something my old man did. We're hoping you might know something about it, and might be able to help us, or at least give us some more information."

The priest regarded them quizzically, but led them to a small room where tea was already waiting on a low table, apparently interrupted by their arrival. He took out a couple of additional bowls and everyone knelt around the table. Ranma wasted no time in using some of the hot water to restore his male body, which attracted another stare from Kurosawa until he realized what he was doing and dropped his eyes.

The priest raised his cup and breathed deeply of the aromatic steam, but lowered it again without drinking. "Thirteen years is quite a long time. I pray that my memory is sufficient to your need. You are looking for a cure to your ... curse, then? I cannot recall anything even remotely like that."

Ranma looked startled. "Eh? No ... no, this has nothing to do with my curse." He fell silent for a moment, troubled that it hadn't even occurred to him that a stranger would naturally think that the problem he was most anxious to solve was his curse. Akane vaguely guessed what was worrying him, and decided to gently prompt him back to the problem at hand.

"I know that thirteen years is a long time," Akane said softly, "but I hope that you can help us. Ranma, I think you should start by describing your father as best you remember him from when you were young."

The young man shook himself free of his thoughts about his curse, then proceeded to describe Genma as he would have appeared over a decade ago. The old priest listened with polite interest, but showed no gleam of recognition. Doggedly, Ranma continued, explaining that his father had shown an interest in some ritual the priest had described.

Unfortunately, his tongue began to stumble as Ranma attempted to describe the details they had read. He turned in frustration to Akane. "Could you explain about the ritual? I think you can probably manage to do a better job than I'm doing."

Akane took up the thread of the conversation. "We have reason to believe that Ranma's father performed this ritual on him, and it's possible that he then gave it to my father to perform on me. According to what he wrote, it was something that could only be done to a very young child. We were five at the time and ... and he wrote that my next older sister was already too old, even though she's only a year older than me."

Akane paused for a moment, only to be interrupted by the old priest. "Do you know anything of the nature of the magic? What it was supposed to do?"

Akane frowned, as she had been about to speak of that. "Saotome-san seemed to think it would grant some sort of authority over the one on whom it was performed to the person who carried it out."

The priest sat meditatively for a few moments before asking, "And you think that I had something to do with this? That I helped him to perform such an act of magic? I assure you ..."

Ranma interrupted, shaking his head, speaking abruptly and to the point. "Naw. We don't think you had a hand in it. It's just my old man said that you're the one who told him about it." He looked sideways at Akane and added, a tad sheepishly, "Well, he wrote it in his journal anyway, so it comes to the same thing."

Kurosawa sat in contemplative silence for a while with his eyes closed, long enough for the two teens to wonder if he might have fallen asleep. Then the old man's face paled. Standing, he told them, "I'll be back shortly." He left the room.

While he was gone, Akane and Ranma began to argue about whether he would find anything. Some twenty minutes passed. Then the old priest came back into the room carrying a scroll. He reeled back in surprise at the loud voices, and the two teens fell silent, red-faced, when they noticed his presence.

Kurosawa reentered the room, looking both grave and disturbed. In truth, he had felt a certain reluctance to reveal that his temple had such a scroll in its possession, but forced himself onward despite the small sense of dishonor.

"I believe I've found it," he declared, then knelt and carefully unrolled the aged and cracking scroll, reading through it rapidly. He shook his head over the contents.

At last he turned to them and stated, "If you will permit me, I believe I can quickly determine whether or not this has been done to you." Receiving nods from the young man and woman before him, he moved closer and held his hands before first one and then the other. Finally he sighed and said, "I am sorry to inform you that you are indeed victims of this magic. This is most repugnant, and the fact that it was your own fathers ..." He shook his head again. "It's not like this would have granted them much additional control. You were already their children and therefore subject to their authority for that reason. I can only hope that they were unaware that this particular spell has the side effect of freezing the subject in an immature stage of emotional development."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Ranma demanded, confused by the long words.

Akane sighed before answering. "It means Nabiki was right. We do act like a couple of little kids."

The priest sipped some tea, grimacing a little that it had cooled, but swallowed it nonetheless. He continued speaking. "I do not know why I told your father about this at all. It is an ancient ritual, used by certain unscrupulous lords, intended for children raised as slaves. It made them more accepting of their slavery. It was never intended to grant absolute control over all aspects of behavior. It is inconceivable that someone would wish to use it on their own children! All moral issues aside, there is the question of grandchildren. Wouldn't they want them? Unbelievable, simply unbelievable."

Ranma gave a bitter chuckle. "It's easier to believe if you know my old man. He's got a long history of screw-ups like this, and he's a past master at only hearing or reading what he wants to, and ignoring anything inconvenient. I'm willing to bet he never even noticed it would keep a person from completely growing up."

"Ranma's right, I'm afraid," Akane added sadly. "But what's done is done. The important thing right now is, can you do anything to help us? Is there any way to undo this?"

The old man smiled at her. "Yes, I believe so, or at least I feel it is quite hopeful. Please, allow me some time to study this further and make preparations. With any luck, I will already have all that I need, and we can attempt to undo the damage tomorrow."

He paused before adding thoughtfully. "If you like, there is a room that you can use tonight, and, I fear I must insist, tomorrow night as well. At least, if we are successful. I am unsure what the full effects of undoing this magic will be. I would like to be assured that you come to no immediate harm as a result of my ... efforts."

"Immediate harm?" Akane inquired nervously. "What sort of harm? And do you expect there to be any long term problems?" The unspoken implications worried her, and she wondered if they were only going to make things worse.

The old priest smiled again. "You will very likely experience some mental changes, as your minds suddenly shift to a state which is more normal for two people your age. It will probably be rather ... disorienting. I think you should be fine over the long term."

"I think we're willing to take that risk," Ranma stated with conviction.

"Very well. Allow me to show you to the room I mentioned, and where to wash up. I hope you will join me for dinner later. Aside from that I fear I will be unable to entertain you, as I will be busy studying the scroll in order to determine how to reverse what was done."

"Thank you very much," Akane told him, and they both stood and bowed deeply, before he led them to another room.

* * *

Their first night in the temple passed reasonably well. Or at least, it did so after a short argument which started when Akane informed Ranma that he'd better not try anything funny just because they were sleeping in the same room. Despite this minor spat, they both managed to get a good night's sleep, and woke the next morning feeling hopeful.

Kurosawa did not finish his preparations until after lunch, a meal Ranma and Akane did little more than pretend to eat, being too anxious over what was to happen for even Ranma to feel hungry. There was another brief argument over who should go first, which Ranma finally won. Kurosawa carefully positioned him among the diagrams chalked onto the wooden floor. Cautioning him not to move, the priest picked up several pieces of paper, marked with odd symbols. These were then attached to Ranma's forehead, the middle of his back and chest, his arms and legs, and more than a little embarrassingly, to his groin.

The priest moved directly in front of Ranma and placing his hands on the boy's chest, proceeded to chant for several minutes. He entered a trance, allowing him to see the flow of chi within Ranma's body, as if he were standing within it. He looked over the streams flowing around him, realizing that he could see where the paths had been altered, where the flow had been dammed or diverted. Gently he reached out and started realigning the flow, finding it to be a great deal easier than he had expected. It was as if the energies were cooperating with him rather than fighting to remain in the old channels.

Luckily, Kurosawa had already seen Ranma's curse. Otherwise, he would have been very shocked when he found the dormant pathways of female chi, which he realized must embody the boy's curse. He made no attempt to remove those pathways, being far too frightened of the potential consequences, but did realign them into the more mature state to match what he had done for the currently flowing male chi.

As he was taking a last look around, he saw a knot which was clearly, fundamentally _wrong_, and took a moment to untangle it, straightening the pathways out so that they would be able to flow much more smoothly. He was unsure of what he had just done, but felt that it could only be an improvement. Finally he spoke the triggers to bring himself out of the trance.

Opening his eyes, he looked directly at Ranma. "How do you feel, young man?"

Ranma shrugged. "I don't think I feel any different at all. Did you really do something?"

Kurosawa smiled. "I certainly did." He took a minute to examine the boy again, noting the new pattern to the flow. "Yes, it worked and seems to be holding just fine. Let's hope the fact you don't feel different means that the change will affect you gradually, rather than all of it hitting you at once. Now if you'll move aside, we'll let Tendo-san have her turn, after which I think I'll leave you two to clean up while I go take a nap."

The priest repeated the preparations for Akane, taking care that everything he had done for Ranma was done as exactly and precisely for her. The diversion of chi pathways went much more quickly and easily, however, since there were no complications with a Jusenkyo curse or that strange knot he had found in the young man. He took the time to confirm that Akane's chi was flowing along normal channels before exiting his trance.

Kurosawa spoke briefly to Akane, ascertaining that she, like Ranma, felt no differently. He then asked the two to help him to his sleeping chamber, where he practically collapsed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Akane and Ranma took the time to wash the diagrams off of the floor, and to clean up everything else which had gone into performing the ritual. They were both silent while doing so, each wrapped in his or her own inward thoughts, as they tried to notice if they were thinking or feeling anything differently. Afterward they went outside to sit in the warm sun, and watched some butterflies which were flitting about the lawn.

It was Ranma who finally broke the silence. "So do you feel any different yet, Akane?"

She shook her head, her short hair gently swaying with the motion. "No, not really. How about you?"

He shrugged, stretching his shirt around his muscular arms. "Nothing yet. I suppose it's like he said, it'll be a bit gradual. O'course, maybe it's just trying to lure us into thinking that, and in an hour or so it's all gonna come crashing down on us at once. Given how things usually go in my life, that seems a lot more likely on the whole."

Akane nodded her agreement, and they both settled back to enjoy the summer afternoon.

* * *

Neither of the two teenagers noticed any other changes for the rest of that day. As they prepared for bed that night, Akane asked calmly, "You will behave yourself tonight, right Ranma?" There was nothing accusatory in her voice to accompany this question.

Ranma responded equally calmly. "Of course. You should know that by now. Good night, Akane."

"Good night, Ranma."

They closed their eyes, and sleep descended on the end of their childhood.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Stay tuned for "Adolescence," the second chapter of _Childhood's End_. The story will conclude in the third chapter, "Adulthood."

I have begun work on _Side by Side_, the sequel to _Togetherness_. More correctly, since I'd already been doing work in the form of planning, I should say that I now have a rough draft of the first chapter. Still, I'm guessing it will be at least a month before I'm able to post it.

I recently finished a suggested timeline for the events in the _Ranma 1/2_ manga, which I have placed on my web site. Feel free to stop by and check it out.


	2. Adolescence

**Childhood's End  
By M. Zephyr**

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. Everyone has to grow up sometime.

Warning: lime scenes ahead.

* * *

**Chapter 2. Adolescence**

Akane and Ranma were fast asleep in a room in a temple. A temple where earlier that day they had each undergone a ritual which they hoped would undo the effects of another magical rite, one their fathers had inflicted upon them thirteen years before, when they were only five years old. However, they were not yet certain whether the attempt had succeeded. They had learned about this action on the part of their fathers due to a side effect, hopefully unintended, which had hindered the emotional growth of the two teenagers. With the original magic undone, Akane and Ranma expected this side effect to be removed as well, but had no idea how long it would take. They had waited all afternoon and evening without noticing any changes in themselves.

Finally, worn out by the uncertainty, they had gone to bed - albeit without the habitual arguments which normally appeared whenever they were together for any length of time. Now, the rapid movements of their eyes underneath their lids, and the slight twitches of their limbs, indicated that the two eighteen year olds were dreaming.

In a dream, Ranma saw himself on the first day he entered the Tendo house, and he watched as he sparred with Akane in the dojo. ‹Man, why was I just dodging her? That was pretty insulting. I was acting like I didn't think she was worth fighting. What a jerk.› He saw many other instances in the dojo where Akane had practically begged him to take her seriously as a martial artist, causing him to cringe at the look on her face at his repeated refusals.

Akane was dreaming as well, also reliving the day that Ranma entered her life. She saw once again the red-haired girl with eyes lost and forlorn, to whom she had offered friendship. She watched Ranma's face light up as she did so. Then she remembered how she had rejected him a short time later when she discovered he was actually a boy. ‹That was ... not very nice of me,› she said to herself.

Ranma was in the Tendo's furo for the first time, once again. He started to climb out, knowing what was coming. ‹If only I hadn't been too humiliated to tell everyone about my curse right away. She probably wouldn't have walked in on me if she'd had any clue.› He saw the door open and a nude Akane enter the room, her small towel barely covering her groin. He felt an unfamiliar icy electric shock pass through his body at the sight, centering on his own groin. ‹My God!› he thought. ‹Oh ... my ... God! That's ... she's breathtaking! How the hell could I _ever_ have called her uncute?›

In the dream Akane slid open the door and stepped into the furoba. She knew what was coming, the sight of the completely nude Ranma stepping out of the furo, fully displayed to her sight. She took in the strong muscles of his chest, his arms, his legs. She took notice of ... the extra appendage ... dangling there enticingly. She seemed to remember that in the original experience, the sight had frightened her, and in truth it still did, a little. But any fear was overwhelmed by something much stronger. She felt heat flooding into her, pooling moltenly below her stomach. ‹Maybe ... maybe it wouldn't be ... so bad ... to see that ... a-again.›

Ranma watched in disbelief as he actually told this gorgeous young woman that he was built better than her. ‹I don't believe what an a--hole I was! Hell, _I'd_ have hit me over the head with a table for that!›

Akane saw herself calling Ranma a pervert after that first meeting, because of the curse which changed him into a girl, and because _she_ had walked in on _him_ in the bathing room, causing him to see her naked body. ‹That really wasn't very fair of me,› she thought. ‹The curse isn't his fault, and I stared at him just as much as he stared at me. In fact, I insulted him before he ever insulted me. That's ... a rather sobering thought.›

The images started coming faster in their dreams. Akane saw distaste on Ranma's face as the other girls threw themselves at him. And each time, her response was always to strike out at _him_.

Ranma saw pain in Akane's eyes as his insults cut her to the bone. He was forced to watch, stricken, the replay of every time he had made her cry.

Within the dreams, resurrected from their memories, they each recalled how often the other had tried to help, and usually received bitter words as a reward instead of gratitude. A hundred incidents where the actions of one of them had revealed how much he or she cared, and the other had been too blind to see.

Individually, they remembered how they had refused to admit what they felt when Ranma's mother wanted to take him home, even though it had led to a separation which neither had desired.

When Ranma took ship for China to help the Jusenkyo guide and his daughter, their pride had kept them silent, not allowing so much as a good-bye for comfort.

They relived the nightmare of Jusendo once again, witnessed their joy that they had both survived, and this time they understood what they were seeing. They wished that they could hide their eyes from what came next, the way they had closed up to one another once again when their parents had attempted to push them into marriage.

As the dreams reviewed the events of their twenty-six months together, they saw all of the ways in which they had still been like little children. How little consideration they had given to the people around them, being far too centered on their own concerns. They had been manipulated by their parents, and others, all too easily. They had resisted being pushed into a relationship not of their own choosing, but had done so by hurting one another rather than placing the blame on those who were responsible. They had hurt themselves out of pride and a refusal to acknowledge what was growing between them, all for the sake of demonstrating their free will, and thereby proving how little freedom of will they truly had exercised.

By the time the sun crept in through the room's single window, both teenagers were drenched with sweat, and their cheeks were wet with tears.

* * *

Akane was the first one to stir that morning. She sat up and shuddered, hugging her knees. She remembered the vivid dreams perfectly, and fresh tears started welling from her eyes. Akane brushed them away irritably, thinking, ‹I've behaved so stupidly. Not entirely my fault, maybe, thanks to daddy and that stupid spell. No, that's not right. Even if I wasn't as mature as I should have been, that doesn't excuse my behavior. I'm not going to blame the way I've acted on anyone other than myself. And as soon as Ranma wakes up, I'm going to apologize to him for ... for everything. I've been so mean to him, and it wasn't fair. Almost none of it was his fault. Well, some of it was, but not all of it.› 

She looked across to the sleeping boy, a couple of meters away, lying on his side with his face toward her. She studied his face. It was a face she knew very well, and yet in some ways she felt as if she were seeing it for the first time.

‹He really is handsome. How strange that I've always missed that. Maybe he looks different when he's awake. And he is a good person underneath, in spite of the way he acts sometimes. He's always willing to help everyone, even me, no matter how badly we've treated him.› Akane brushed away a sad tear.

She noticed his eyes shift under his eyelids, restlessly darting back and forth. ‹I wonder if he's having dreams like mine ... What _was_ it that priest _did_ to us?›

Her thoughts stilled as Ranma suddenly rolled over onto his back, then onto his side once more. His eyes blinked, opened, and came to focus on her. He looked stunned by the sight. Ranma rolled onto his back again, staring at the ceiling, and seemed to be lost in contemplation. Akane left him in peace for the moment, telling herself that she was giving him time to wake up before she humbled herself to apologize for her past behavior. In truth, she was feeling uncharacteristically shy and awkward, and wanted the time to compose herself before speaking. Turning her gaze away, she watched the dust motes drifting lazily in the sunbeam coming through the window, while she considered the words she wanted to say.

Finally Ranma sat up with a mumbled, "Good morning, Akane." After she responded with a greeting of her own, he rose to his knees facing her, and bowed deeply. Akane was so surprised that she stared at him in blank amazement. Holding this position, he took a deep breath and then began speaking. He had spent the last several minutes rehearsing the words as he stared at the ceiling.

"I wish to humbly apologize for all of the ways I have mistreated you in the past. I have said things to you, over and over again, that were not true, and which I knew were not true. I have at times done things solely for the purpose of hurting you, and more often have caused you pain thoughtlessly. I have failed to give you the respect you were due, or to take your feelings into consideration, being worried only for my own pride and selfish concerns. I am deeply ashamed of myself. I cannot correct my past errors, but I swear that I will try to do better in the future."

Akane felt as though she'd been kicked in the gut. An involuntary "no" escaped her lips.

Ranma looked inexpressibly sad, hopeless. "You ... can't forgive me? Ever?"

"No. I mean ... of course I ... I mean ... oh! I'm really making a mess of this."

Tears started sliding down Akane's cheeks, which she felt helpless to prevent, as her rehearsed words flew out of her head. She moved over and knelt in front of Ranma, laying the fingers of one hand against the side of his face and lifting his eyes to hers. Speaking through the lump that threatened to steal her voice entirely, she whispered, "I mean ... you're making it sound worse than you were. It wasn't all your fault. And we had some good times together, too."

She took a deep breath, holding it for several seconds, bracing for her own confession and apology. Calming herself, she found that she was able to retrieve most of her planned speech.

Akane bowed, as Ranma had. Her voice, when she spoke, was soft but strong, no longer a whisper. "I also must apologize for my behavior toward you. I also have said things which were not true, and failed to acknowledge their dishonesty even to myself. I have reacted with violence when such reaction was uncalled for. I have refused to trust you, especially where the other girls are concerned, even after you have repeatedly shown yourself to be worthy of trust. I have made no attempt to understand your motivations, or your own feelings, allowing myself to be guided by my own hurt pride instead. I too am ashamed of my past behavior, and swear that I will try to do better from now on."

Her apology given, Akane remained kneeling, eyes downcast, while Ranma studied her with a serious expression. Suddenly he smiled, almost impish. Leaning forward, he copied her earlier gesture, using his fingertips to lift Akane's face so that she was looking at him again.

In a more normal, cocky tone, Ranma said, "Well, maybe I'm a bit more grown up this morning, but that's about as much flowery talk as I can take. Whaddya say we forgive each other and try to start over?"

Akane nodded, and her lips curved upward in a smile which grew until her face was alight with it. "Hi, I'm Akane. You want to be friends?"

Suddenly Ranma felt sixteen again, lonely, humiliated to be presented to strangers in the cursed female body he had acquired bare weeks before. This same girl had smiled at him and offered friendship, and for a short time, until the incident in the furo, he had dared to hope. Uncontrolled tears poured from his eyes, and he turned aside, trying to rub them away. "Aw, d-damn! Now look what you've gone and done!" After a minute he got himself under control and turned back. "I'm Ranma, and yeah, I'd really like to be friends."

They sat and talked a little longer. Akane mentioned her dreams, after which Ranma admitted to experiencing the same thing. Later during breakfast, Ranma raised the issue with the priest. "Kurosawa-sensei, would you mind very much if Akane and I remained here for another night? We both had a pretty rough night, probably because of those 'mental changes' you warned us about. Our dreams were ... unusually intense. I ... I'd like to be sure the worst is over before we go. In return, we'll be glad to do any chores that need doing."

The elderly man questioned them concerning the content of their dreams. Blushing brightly, they gave him a few details. Finally, he nodded slowly.

"Of course you may stay another day. I agree that your dreams must have been a result of breaking the spell. Indeed, I myself feel a measure of blame for what happened to you - not for undoing the damage, but that it was done to you in the first place." He paused and smiled. "Besides, there are in fact some things you could help me with if you don't mind."

"We don't mind at all," Akane told him cheerfully. "We're in our summer break right now, so there's nowhere we have to be instead. Our dads might be getting a little concerned - and Ranma's mother - but we've been away from home before without warning. Frankly, after what they did to us, I really don't care if they're worried."

The old priest frowned, turning to face Akane fully. "You should try not to give in to bitterness. All experience brings wisdom to those who open themselves to it."

Behind his back, Ranma made a face, rolling his eyes dramatically. Akane gave no notice of his reaction, instead bowing her head humbly before the priest. But inside she found herself sympathizing with Ranma's unspoken commentary.

After breakfast they both spent a couple of hours pruning the trees and shrubs on the temple grounds. The morning was already hot, and both were wearing shorts and t-shirts. Each of them kept stealing glances at the other while they worked, watching the play of muscles under the skin, observing the faint sheen of perspiration. From time to time one of them would get so caught up in the sight that he or she would forget to continue working.

Their task completed, they took a break and sat on a bench together under one of the trees. Both were intensely aware of the other's presence and the scant centimeters which separated them. Out of the corner of her eye, Akane was looking at his strong arms and torso, remembering what it had felt like to be held in those arms on more than one occasion. She felt a tingling, hollow sensation at the memory, and her breathing became shorter and more rapid.

Ranma was trying to watch Akane without letting her catch him at it. He admired the way her shirt adhered to her skin, clearly outlining the bra she wore beneath it. A mental image intruded in his mind, the memory of how she looked without that intervening fabric. Embarrassed by the thought, he shifted his gaze down, but there was no relief there. Her long legs were stretched out before her, bare and tanned. His eyes traveled along their length, higher ... and higher. Catching his breath with a barely restrained shudder, he shifted his position, crossing his legs in a vain attempt to hide his natural physical reaction, fervently hoping that Akane would not notice. He had no desire to hear the word "pervert" on her lips again.

Akane looked over as he shifted position, and glanced down - briefly. The arch of his shorts left no doubt of the cause, and she found herself remembering her first view of his male form. Perspiration which had nothing to do with the day's heat adorned her face. A tingling for which she had no name was rising within her, in her cheeks, and in her chest, and ... further down. Akane bit her lower lip, pressing her legs together against the unfamiliar liquid warmth, but that only seemed to make it worse. She could feel his proximity - the air between his thigh and hers seemed supercharged with electricity, a phantom caress almost more intimate than skin on skin.

Ranma fought the urge to readjust himself, even though he was painfully caught against the fabric of his shorts. He gave Akane another quick look, to see if there was any way he could manage without her observing, but what he saw only made the problem more ... pressing. She was leaning a little forward, her hands pressed together resting lightly in her lap, her lips red and glistening in the sun. The fabric of her shirt was pulled taut over her front, emphasizing her curves and highlighting two small points in front.

The sight made him tremble, overwhelmed by unfamiliar sensations. Unable to take it any longer, he stood, keeping his back to her. Ranma nervously cleared his throat and in a husky voice, much lower than his usual, said, "I, uh, need to go and take care of something." Without waiting for an answer, he quickly shuffled away, keeping his back to Akane until he was sure that he was out of sight. He quickly made his way to the lavatory in the temple's living quarters, locking the door behind him as he stepped inside.

Akane thought that once Ranma was gone, everything would return to normal, but she seemed unable to dismiss the images of him from her mind. She tried to wait, but soon found herself on her feet, pacing. That only seemed to make things worse. She sat again, crossing her arms over her suddenly very tender chest, rocking back and forth. Almost at once, she realized her mistake. That particular movement only exacerbated the problem. With a small gasp, she stood and looked around. No sign of Ranma; no sign of anyone. Still, she felt suddenly exposed standing out here, as if people might see her, might know what she was feeling, what she was thinking.

The young woman hurried inside. She had a driving need to do _something_ about these feelings. She passed the restroom door, noticing that it was closed. Her mind shied away from the thought of Ranma behind that door, desperately trying not to think of what he might be doing in there all this time. A bath! Yes, a bath would surely help.

Akane made her way rapidly to the furoba. She carefully put up the "occupied" sign and quickly undressed, then filled the furo and sank gratefully into its warmth. The water embraced her, caressing her all over, her breasts, her belly, her most intimate parts. Akane shivered as she realized this had brought her no relief, but only greater need. Her hands slowly followed the caress of the water along her skin.

In the privacy of the restroom, Ranma discovered the experience that he had heard described as "the little death," finally understanding the meaning of the phrase. A short time later, Akane independently came to the same understanding.

* * *

Kurosawa had a luncheon engagement in town, but he invited Akane and Ranma to make their own lunch of the leftovers from the previous night's dinner. As they sat across from each other eating, despite their efforts to the contrary, both teenagers kept catching the other's eye and then quickly looking away, blushing hotly. Each of them had suspicions about the other's reactions earlier, and were deathly worried that the suspicion might be returned. 

After lunch they went for a short walk together, and ended up leaning on the railing of a short bridge, looking at a stream gurgling past below them. In silence, they watched the water flowing over the stones. Finally, Ranma glanced to the side at Akane and asked, "So, ah, has this had any effect on how you feel about us getting married? Uh, someday, that is?"

Akane gave a quick glance his way, then looked back down at the stream. Her voice shook with both fear and longing. "Before I answer that, there's something I need to hear. I need to know the answer to the question I asked back in March. Do you remember? When you came to my room just before they tried to get us married?"

All sounds of the day seemed to stop as Akane's quiet voice asked, "Ranma, do you love me?"

He swallowed nervously, his lips suddenly dry. This was it. This was the time to be a man and tell her how he really felt. Ranma straightened up and turned toward her. Akane was resolutely pretending to be engrossed in the water flowing under them. He lightly touched her shoulder, gently turning her to face him so that he could look her in the eyes. His words were quiet, but spoken firmly, with no hint of the indecisiveness she had been expecting.

"I love you, Akane Tendo. I love you more than I can possibly say. I don't know how you heard me at Jusendo, I could swear I didn't say it out loud, but somehow you must have heard me. That's when I finally knew, deep down, that I loved you. When I thought it was too late, that I'd lost you forever. I knew then that my heart belongs to you, and you're the only one I want to marry."

Akane's eyes were shining. She took a step closer to put her arms around his chest, laying her cheek against his shoulder. "I love you, too, Ranma, and yes, I would very much like to marry you. I'm not sure when, or how soon. Sometime after these new feelings have settled down a little more. But you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."

They stood like that for a long time, clinging to one another, the words finally spoken. They were together in a little bubble of timelessness, that they didn't want to end. Awareness of the rest of the world slowly began to return after some unknown time had passed. A breeze ruffled their hair and Akane tilted her head back, looking up into Ranma's eyes. His own head leaned forward, and their eyes closed as their lips met. They felt the flames within them rise up into a bonfire, and both felt like fools for having delayed this moment for so long, ignoring the fact that they likely would not have been able to experience it properly before the spells were broken.

As they drew apart again, Akane asked, "What are we going to do about everyone?"

Ranma frowned, his eyes darkening, his face showing a somber, mature resolve that was so different from his usual cocky expression, it was almost frightening.

"We've put up with the nonsense for too long. _Way_ too long. No more. When we get back we're going to tell the others that we've made our choice, together, and that they'd better back off or _else_. For their sake I hope we can make 'em understand that I'm serious about this. The gloves are coming off, and anyone who won't leave us alone is going to regret it!"

"Sounds good to me," replied Akane, her voice hard. She chewed on her lip for a minute, and when she spoke next her voice was just as hard, but a little hesitant. "On the other hand, maybe we should wait a couple of days before doing anything. I ... I feel like I've changed an awful lot, just since yesterday. I want to be sure ..." She paused, wondering if he understood what she was trying to say.

"... that we've stopped changing?" Ranma suggested. "That we're mostly grown up, before we decide exactly what to do?"

He was rewarded with a pleased nod from Akane. Then her expression shifted, became less certain. Her voice when it came was softer, sounding confused. "What about our families? I ... I'm not sure I can forgive daddy for what he did to us, to me. Not right now. Maybe not ever, but ..." She left the thought incomplete.

Ranma had no ready answer for her. "Maybe we should talk about that later. There's no way I'm forgiving pop this time. Mom, though, I dunno. I don't want to lose my mom. At the same time, I'm seeing her in a slightly different light. I can't forget that she was willing to make me kill myself back when she thought I was a cross-dresser, until we set up that little charade with me peeping on you. I just don't know."

Akane sighed with wry understanding. "Okay, we'll talk about our parents later. Maybe we should go back to the temple now? Or maybe ..." She paused hopefully, looking eager. "Would you like to do a little sparring? Say, in that orchard beside the temple?"

Ranma answered her smile. "Sure. Let's go get changed. Then you'd better be ready to be put through the wringer." His smile grew broader at the light that filled her eyes, and he made a promise to himself. ‹This time I'm going to give her the respect she deserves. No more dodging, no more playing the fool, no more belittling her skill.›

* * *

Much later, after sparring up and down the orchard, they rested under one of the trees. Akane gave an occasional theatrical groan, but felt surprisingly good despite the soreness. She had been shocked when, seconds into their sparring match, Ranma had swept her legs from under her, causing her to land heavily on her back. After that she had approached him more warily, but a minute later the shock had been even greater when one of his fists had slipped past her block to strike her solar plexus. She was aware that it had been nowhere near as hard as he could have hit, but it had been sufficient to knock the breath from her. 

After that he had kept up a running commentary of corrections she should make to her stances, movements, responses, things she should focus on while practicing. It had been ... no, not depressing. Frustrating? Yes, some, as he forced her to realize how much work she would need to do to present him with a serious challenge. Exhilarating? That was much closer to the mark. It was the first time in years that she had felt like she was learning something, achieving more than incremental improvement.

Akane leaned her head back, gazing up at the unripe fruit hanging above them, at the dappled sunlight shining through the leaves. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way before, utterly content, entirely at peace in a way that she never wanted to end. Yet she knew that it would have to end all too soon. It would be time to return home and see if, at long last, they could finally seize control of their lives.

She looked down again, examining the bruises starting to show along her forearm. They were symbols, she realized, a sign of how much had changed. And they were a hope for the future. Without turning her head, Akane quietly said, "Thank you, Ranma."

The pigtailed boy gave no answer, but she saw him nod his head out of the corner of her eye. Most importantly, he did not pretend not to understand, or to suggest it was a matter of little consequence. She had felt the heat of lust for him that morning, and the rapture of romantic love on the bridge. Now her heart swelled within her, as this moment in time and the sheer joy of the art they had recently shared combined to convince her that, yes, she had indeed made the right choice. This was the man who was worthy of her, the one that she could truly share herself with. For the first time she looked forward to the future, a future with him.

Eventually, though, it was time to return to the temple. They hopped over the wall separating it from the orchard, and walked toward the building unhurriedly. About halfway there a feline face peeked out from behind a tree. It made a small sound, a mew of polite inquiry.

Ranma froze in shock, and Akane took a step forward to shoo the cat away before stopping in puzzlement. She looked questioningly at Ranma, who was neither screaming nor running in the other direction. He _was_ trembling, and staring at the cat with wide eyes that showed fear. But it was clear that the fear did not control him.

After a minute, the trembling ceased. Ranma bared his teeth and stepped forward, causing the cat to dart away. Stopping in front of the tree, Ranma raised a hand and drew it down the trunk, leaving five long, deep gashes in the bark. "Akane?" he called to her, with a hissing quality in his voice that made her hair stand on end. "I think I'm in the neko-ken."

"Are you sure, Ranma?" she asked hesitantly, although the marks on the tree were certainly suggestive. "I mean, you ought to think you're a cat if you are. But you're talking to me."

"I know," he said. "I don't understand either. But my senses are different, sharper. I can smell you as clearly as I see you. A good smell. You saw what I did to the tree." He paused. "I'm going to try a kata."

Akane watched as he started slowly but then built up speed. He seemed even more graceful than usual. His movements seemed to have lost a little bit in power, but were significantly faster even than his female form. It was a stunning display which left her breathless and agape with amazement.

"How?" she asked, after he stopped. "Do you ... do you think that yesterday might have something to do with this? That the changes Kurosawa-sensei made might have somehow affected your neko-ken?"

Ranma shrugged. "Only thing I can think of." His voice still had that hissing sound in it. "I don't think I want to stay like this, though. I'm _too_ aware of everything, right now. Let's get some water and see if my transformation will bring me out of it, like usual."

They headed inside to the kitchen. A quick splash later and the red-haired female Ranma was smiling and saying, "Ah! That's better! That felt really weird." His nose wrinkled, as if trying to readjust to the change in the sense of smell. After a thoughtful moment, he pointed out, "Another odd thing is that I can remember everything. I knew what was happening while I was in that state, and I can remember it now."

Akane hugged him, taking no notice of the fact that he was currently female. "That's wonderful, Ranma! Maybe you won't have to be so scared of going into the neko-ken anymore." Akane finally took notice of the heat this hug was generating within her, as well as his current gender. She stepped away quickly. "Er, are you going to change back now?"

Ranma took a moment to shift his mental processes from the feelings produced by the hug, to consider Akane's question. After a little thought, he shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I'd like to see if I can tell whether I'm more grown up in this form as well. In fact, I think I'll stay this way tonight while I'm asleep. A lot of the changes seemed to occur while we were asleep last night. Maybe it would help my female side to go through the same thing."

Akane nodded, impressed with his reasoning, whether or not it was correct. "That's probably a good idea," she agreed. "So, shall we plan to leave tomorrow morning to head home?"

Ranma nodded in turn. "Yeah, unless something happens overnight to make us decide to delay a little longer. If it does, we should probably contact our families to let 'em know we're all right. Wouldn't want Kasumi or mom to worry too much, anyway."

At dinner, Ranma described the neko-ken to the priest and how it had been different that afternoon. The old man was considerably startled at the description, and found himself with a rare desire to try beating some sense into the boy's father. Or perhaps just beating him. After thinking about it, he described the strange knot he had found in Ranma's chi, and how he had untangled it while making the other repairs. Although there was no way to be sure, they tentatively agreed that perhaps that was the explanation for the change.

As the evening progressed, Ranma had ample evidence that he _was_ more grown up, even in his female form. The reactions he felt while watching Akane were more than sufficient to prove that. Nonetheless he stuck with his plan to remain female overnight. His dreams were not so vivid that night, but there were a few which seemed important, and which he reflected on the next morning after waking.

The time came at last to say good-bye to Kurosawa, and both teenagers thanked him profusely for all he had done for them. He invited them to feel free to return at any time, although they felt obliged to point out that they lived a goodly distance away. With a final exchange of bows, Akane and Ranma started their hike toward the distant railway station.

Sitting beside one another on the long trip back, the two young people were almost painfully aware of the other's nearness. Their hands had become entwined shortly after sitting down, and they were once again having trouble controlling their imaginations and their bodies' reactions. Even so, they both felt a deep sense of rightness in the presence of the other. Akane eventually fell asleep, leaning against Ranma's shoulder, and a little while later he joined her in sleep. Their dreams were more than pleasant, though left them feeling rather flushed on waking.

As the Ono Clinic lay more or less along the way between the train station and the Tendo home, Akane and Ranma decided to stop there first and relate the story to Doctor Tofu. He was fascinated by their tale, and was particularly intrigued by what they had to say concerning the neko-ken. Reluctantly, he had to cut the visit short after only a quick check to confirm their condition, since he had other patients waiting. The couple departed the clinic to return home. A few people who knew them stopped to stare as they walked past, for Ranma was walking on the sidewalk beside Akane, and their hands were clasped.

"We're home!" they called out as they came through the door. They were quickly pounced upon by the various members of their families, each demanding an explanation of their disappearance.

The young couple had agreed not to do anything, or say anything, to their families that day, not until they had decided how they wanted to handle everyone. Instead Ranma gave them the story they had decided on, speaking defensively, "I heard a rumor about a new martial arts technique, and I wanted to look into it. Akane decided to tag along. Waste of time as it turned out, just a wild goose chase."

With a hopeful air, Soun Tendo asked, "Did the two of you share a room during this trip?" The extra emphasis he put on the word _share_ was clearly meant to indicate the sharing of a bed, and a great deal more, as well.

"Please get your mind out of the gutter, daddy," Akane told him, wrinkling her nose with distaste. "Ranma was a perfect gentleman the entire time."

Nodoka Saotome eyed her wayward son critically. "I confess I am a little surprised that my _manly_ son found it so easy to restrain his natural urges. Are you _sure_ that nothing happened?"

Ranma cast a look upon her which she could not interpret, and answered this, "Quite sure, mom. It's only immature _boys_ who are unable to control themselves. I respect Akane, and would not treat her dishonorably." His mother flushed slightly, whether with anger or embarrassment not even she could say for sure, and she said nothing further.

During dinner, Akane related a story about the temple they had visited, woven from those parts of the truth they were willing to share, with occasional clarifications and tangents from Ranma. The rest of the families could not help but observe the lack of discord between the pair, and the covert glances they occasionally gave to one another.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, Soun declared, "My daughter and her fiancé are getting along so well together! It's surely time to plan for the wedding!"

Both Akane and Ranma twitched at this, but chose to ignore him, as Akane continued her tale.

Genma interrupted with his agreement. "You're absolutely right, Tendo. Do you think we should get the same priest as last time, or try someone new?"

With a sigh, Ranma turned to his father. His eyes and words were both icy, and everyone there heard the complete sincerity in his voice. "If you bring a priest here, or attempt in any other way to arrange another marriage, without Akane's and my consent, I will break both of your arms. Then I will learn how to administer the full body cat's tongue and give it to you, so that you'll be stuck as a panda. Then I will sell you to the zoo. Is that clear?"

Genma swallowed, and nodded in spite of himself. He felt no doubt that his son had meant every word that he had just said. He wondered what in the hell had caused the boy to change so suddenly.

Akane turned to Ranma. Her voice was also cold as she said, "Now Ranma, that wouldn't be very fair. If our fathers do that, you'll have to be sure to break daddy's arms as well. I don't think the zoo will take him, though."

"Very well, Akane," Ranma replied seriously. "I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

Soun was so surprised he almost forgot to turn on the waterworks and weep over his daughter being angry with him. The other three women at the table were staring at Akane and Ranma, also trying to puzzle out the change in them. Nabiki in particular looked as if her mental gears were turning at top speed, no doubt trying to work out what effect this might have on her various schemes in the near term. Akane returned once more to her story, as if there had been no interruption.

After dinner, Akane and Ranma offered to help Kasumi with the dishes, then went out to the dojo to spar. A little later Nabiki, attracted by the unexpected sound of flesh hitting flesh, stepped out to the dojo and looked in the open door. To her stunned amazement, Ranma was working full contact with Akane, rather than dancing around and dodging her. He was also critiquing her, and pausing frequently to show her what he meant. For a moment Nabiki considered stepping inside and demanding to know who they were and what they had done with the real Akane and Ranma, but then decided that such sarcasm was pointless. As she went back into the house, however, she was already mentally adjusting the odds for the outcome of the fiancée wars.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Akane gave Ranma an impish wink while no one was looking, warning him that she was up to something. She then announced her intention to cook dinner that night. When the others failed to talk her out of this, they one and all suddenly began remembering previous engagements which would require their absence at the evening meal. Of course, Genma and Nodoka both insisted that Ranma had to stay to eat the meal his fiancée would prepare for him. Within the space of a few minutes it became clear that Akane and Ranma would be alone in the house for most of the evening. 

Ranma almost gave in to habitual panic, but he remembered the wink Akane had given him. Praying that he wasn't wrong, he allowed himself to hope that she had something else in mind other than making him dinner.

After breakfast, he considered sparring with his father, but decided that it would not be safe. He was still feeling far too much anger toward the man for what he had done. Genma tried to force the issue himself, but was merely kicked across the yard and into the koi pond for his trouble.

While the dripping panda pulled himself back out of the pond, Ranma gestured for Akane to follow him into the dojo once more. As she did so, she gave him a lopsided grin and told him, "I ... I'm not sure I'm up to sparring right now. I'm still pretty sore from the workout last night."

The young man scoffed. "You can manage if you have to. Besides, the best thing for sore muscles is more of what made them sore. Believe me, I know. On the other hand, I wasn't planning to spar right now. We can do that this afternoon." Ranma paused, then considered her with a raised eyebrow. "So, um, you're making dinner tonight?"

Akane smirked. "Convinced everyone to leave us alone in the house tonight, didn't it? I thought we might want the time to make some more plans." A brief, sad look crossed her face at the thought of how she had used everyone's reactions to her cooking. "We can discuss it later, okay?"

Ranma nodded his agreement. Akane sighed and turned her thoughts back to the present, looking around the dojo. She cocked her head to the side and asked, "So, if we're not going to spar, what did you want to do in here?"

Ranma answered, his expression serious, "I want to go back and review the basics with you. It doesn't make sense to try to show you anything advanced until I know exactly where you stand, what you still need to perfect."

"You're planning to _test_ me?" she asked, one eyebrow raised, torn between incredulity and annoyance. "You want me to prove that I know the elementary stuff?"

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah. I know it might seem a bit insulting, but ... it's necessary."

Akane struggled with her emotions, wrestling them back under control. She eyed Ranma speculatively. "Okay, but on one condition."

"What's that?" he asked nervously.

"You let _me_ review _you_ on the elementary stuff from your schoolwork. Then when school starts up this fall, you agree to work on trying to get decent grades."

Ranma almost rebelled against the notion out of habit, but paused long enough to reconsider. Perhaps it _was_ time he got serious about school. There were only two terms left in their senior year. Did he want to risk not graduating with her? Finally, without speaking, he nodded his agreement, and in return Akane nodded hers. Without further argument, they began doing what Ranma had suggested.

While they were actually working on martial arts, they were able to remain focused on the task at hand. However, they took frequent breaks, and at those times their eyes felt irresistibly drawn to the other, and they were being less careful about trying to conceal this fact. When they called it quits, their flushed faces were not entirely due to their exertions.

After the morning session in the dojo, the pair separated, Akane going to meet some of her friends, while Ranma wandered around the rooftops aimlessly. Both hoped that a little time apart would allow them to regain a measure of self control. When they met to spar in the afternoon, however, it was as if they had not taken a break at all. At one point Ranma seized Akane to throw her, but then pulled her in tight instead, and froze, with her back pressed against his chest and her face looking up into his, a bare ten centimeters separating their lips.

Nervously, the two drew apart, each finding the floor to be of intense interest.

"I-I suppose that's enough for today," suggested Ranma.

"Yes," agreed Akane. "I, ah, I'm going to go bathe. After that, I think it'll be time to get started on dinner."

Ranma winced. "Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but ... would it be okay if I help with that?" His face began to turn red. Quickly he added, "Dinner, I mean, not your ... urgh, uh, I meant dinner."

Akane smiled. "I'd, um, appreciate it. Thanks." She turned and fled the dojo, her steps only slowing when she reached her bedroom and picked up a change of clothing.

A little later as she was soaking in the furo, Akane found herself remembering again that first day when they had walked in on each other in this room. Her mind then jumped forward to the time that Ranma had, with her cooperation, "peeped" on her while she sat here. He had been quite nervous about the whole affair, unsuspecting that she was wearing a swimsuit the whole time.

Akane smiled, recalling Ranma's disappointment on that occasion upon finally discovering she had on a swimsuit. Relaxing further in the embrace of the water, she found herself indulging in a fantasy about how she might react if Ranma were to walk through that door right now. Somewhat ruefully, Akane acknowledged that if he did, she'd be more likely to bash him over the head and scream at him than to pull him down into the water with her and cover him with kisses.

Reluctantly Akane stood up out of the hot waters of the furo, watching the drops slide off of her skin. Warmth flooded through her as she imagined how Ranma's eyes would look if he could see her like this. Shaking her head to dispel such thoughts, she reached for her towel, wondering silently to herself, ‹How do other people handle these feelings as they start growing up? Of course, they get the opportunity to spread it out over years instead of days.›

She quickly finished drying off and dressed, then went in search of Ranma to let him know that the bath was free.

By the time Ranma emerged from his bath, everyone else was gone, scared off by the thought of Akane in the kitchen. When he joined her, Akane smiled, saying, "You know, the only reason I said I was going to cook tonight was to get everyone else out of the house. If you want, we can order something to be delivered, or you can make dinner. I won't force you to eat my cooking."

Ranma could hear the pain behind her words and to his regret, he was no longer able to be oblivious to Akane's feelings about her efforts in the kitchen. Masking a sigh, he suggested, "How about if we cook dinner together, and I show you what to do?" He was rewarded with an ecstatic grin, as her expectation of his agreement to her offer was converted into pure happiness by his suggestion.

The preparation of the meal had its interesting moments, but for the most part went reasonably well. Ranma kept his fingers crossed, while wondering if there would be some sort of unpleasant surprise when they actually sat down to eat it. He found, though, that he need not have worried. While far from a gourmet feast, the food was perfectly edible, and he wondered if it was his help which had made the difference, or if her inability in the kitchen had been another side effect of the spell they had been under. ‹Probably the former,› he thought, ‹otherwise I should've had the same problem.› He smiled tolerantly at the sight of Akane nearly bouncing up and down at the table because of how well the meal had turned out.

After washing the dishes, Ranma joined Akane in her room, sitting beside her on the bed, schoolbooks scattered around them. Her window was open to let in a slight breeze, little though it did to relieve the heat. They were both wearing shorts, and Ranma was wearing a tank top while Akane had on a V-necked t-shirt.

Reviewing their schoolwork was as humiliating for Ranma as the martial arts review had been for Akane. At one point when she was putting one book down for another, Ranma cleared his throat, and asked, "So, uh, do you want to try to hide from everybody how we feel about each other now? Or let them see how we really feel?"

Akane was experiencing more than a little nervousness, from his closeness and her reactions to it. "Um, how do you mean, exactly? It's not like we've been doing a very good job of concealing it so far, given what our fathers said last night."

"Heh. Yeah. Right," Ranma agreed. "Well, I guess I don't mean hide it so much as ... just not give away everything. We can let them see us holding hands. Maybe let them find out we've kissed. I'm, uh, hoping to do more of that. I almost kissed you again in the dojo earlier, and I'd really like to do it again, right now."

"So, um, what's stopping you," she responded shyly, looking down at the book in her hands. She saw his hands reaching to take the book gently from her and then his fingers were on her face, turning her toward him. Akane looked up into his eyes as they approached hers, felt his lips press against her lips. Her eyes closed of their own accord, her arm reaching around him, his arms encircling her. The kiss deepened, growing more intense. She moaned softly, pressing herself against him more tightly.

Akane pulled back slightly, keeping her cheek pressed against his, while she murmured, "I think we should try to keep it a secret. Don't let them know more than that we're getting along."

His lips brushed across her cheek and nibbled at her ear, while he inhaled the scent of her hair. "Sounds good to me," he whispered in her ear. Then his lips traced back along the line of her jaw and they were kissing again, losing themselves to the flames that were roaring ever higher. They were clinging to each other, hands stroking, caressing, the pent up hormones of years releasing themselves at this one focused point in time. To the accompaniment of moans and whimpers of pleasure their hands explored, fastenings were undone, fingers brushed bare skin.

Some timeless period later Akane felt a pressure against her thigh, and realized she was lying on her back, with Ranma at her side, half on top of her. Without releasing his lips she managed to glance down, seeing him fully exposed, feeling fresh heat course through her at the sight, and measuring with her eye the scant centimeters separating it from its ultimate destination, also fully exposed. With the greatest effort of will she had ever achieved in her life, Akane pulled her lips from Ranma's and whispered his name, "Ranma."

He managed to open his eyes and look at her, seeing the desire in her eyes, as strong as his own, but something else as well. A hesitation. A request to help her pull back from the brink, to save something for another, better time. With enormous effort, he took control of himself, and deposited three short kisses on her forehead, her nose, her lips once more, before rolling over and sitting up. With a great deal of self consciousness, the two teenagers restored their clothing to the proper states.

"Um, so that's what all the talk is about," said Ranma, a touch of awe in his voice, trying to push back the silence which had enveloped them.

"Guess so," Akane replied, a nervous giggle escaping her.

"I don't think we have a chance of keeping how we feel a secret," Ranma pointed out mournfully. "Not from our families, anyway.

Akane sighed her agreement. She shook her head, and one corner of her mouth turned up. "At least now I understand a little better why all the girls keep gossiping about this stuff."

"Are they really as bad as the guys?" Ranma asked, curious. Then a thought occurred to him. "Oh man, I am so dead."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Akane asked, not understanding.

Ranma couldn't bring himself to face her. "Those jerks at school. They're always pestering me, asking how 'far' I've gone with you. Before it was always easy to just tell them to drop dead. But I was just picturing what it's gonna be like this coming autumn. The first time they ask me, I just know my face is gonna light up like a tomato. It'll be a dead giveaway that _something's_ happened."

Akane cringed at the thought. "Oh God, you're right! It'll be the same with the girls!" She hid her face in her hands.

Ranma started twiddling his thumbs. "Uh, you got any ideas on how to handle it? I really ain't looking forward to how they'll react."

Akane thought about it. "I guess ... maybe we should just admit that we do care about each other. No, not enough. Okay, we admit that we have kissed. With the reputation we've built up, they'll probably be able to accept that as an explanation for how embarrassed we'll be. What do you think?"

Ranma smiled his agreement. "That ought to do. You're right enough that they'll probably accept that explanation."

Akane brought her feet up onto the edge of the bed, wrapping her arms around her knees. "How are we going to handle the way we're acting? I, uh, do want to go on kissing you, and, uh," her voice dropped to an embarrassed whisper, "maybe a little bit more." Her voice rose again. "But I don't really want to lose control like that again. Other people seem to manage it. Or at least usually they do. Do you think it's just because it's all so new to us?"

Ranma had already privately reached that conclusion. "I think so. I hope so. We're just not used to it. With a little practice we should be able to control it." He reached over and took one of her hands in his. Smiling crookedly, he added, "I gotta admit, I'm kinda looking forward to the practice."

Akane gave him a return smile, and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. Then she sighed. "I don't know, Ranma. You're right, with the way we're acting, we can't keep our feelings secret. Besides, the way I feel right now, I don't want you to keep your distance, I don't want to pretend. But our fathers won't give us any peace at all if we don't. I wish there was some way to get them both out of the house, so they couldn't cause us any more trouble. Well, at least not as much trouble."

"Yeah," Ranma sighed. "Pity we're not married with the house belonging to us. Then we could just throw them out. They deserve it anyway after what they did to us."

Akane gave a small smile at the thought, but after a minute she suddenly sat up straighter. "Ranma ..." Her voice sounded strange. "I just had a ... a wild idea. You'll think it's really weird. Um, before I tell you, could you come down to my father's bedroom and help me look for something? If we can't find it, there isn't any point anyway."

"Uh, sure." He stood up and followed her out the door. "Of course, if you want my help finding whatever it is, you're going to have to tell me what we're looking for."

Akane remained silent, thinking hard, until they reached the master bedroom. "When they tried to get us married back in March, our father's would have had to sign the form giving their consent for us to marry. I'm betting they already had it signed. If so, daddy probably hasn't thrown it away, because they'd want to have it ready to use whenever they could talk us or trick us into getting married. I want to find it if it's there. Also, you have a point about us owning the house when we're married. Daddy wants us to take over the dojo, and I'm sure he said something that day about transferring the property to us when we get married. I want to see if we can find that paperwork as well, and if they might have filled it out too."

"Uh, I think it's better that I don't ask what you've got in mind," Ranma said nervously. "I'll help you look though."

The two eighteen year olds began to ransack Soun Tendo's bedroom, being careful to put everything back in its place as they went. Ranma started on the closet while Akane began with the desk. But when one of the drawers turned out to be locked, she found it necessary to call on Ranma's help. He made a quick trip to his room to retrieve the lock pick from Genma's pack, reflecting that there was a certain irony to using it for this. He soon had the drawer open and they shuffled through the documents therein. With a cry of triumph, Akane held up the papers she was seeking, and Ranma saw that, indeed, the names Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome were present on them.

They put the papers down on the desktop to examine them more carefully. Ranma pointed to one blank line and asked, "What's this bit about a trustee?"

Akane looked at it and answered thoughtfully, "Since we're underage, someone has to hold the property in trust for us until we turn twenty. That space must be for the name of the person who will do so. I wonder why it's still blank though?"

Ranma considered this. "I bet they had an argument about it. My pop probably wanted it. They might not have filled it in yet because they couldn't agree."

Akane gave a predatory grin. "I suppose that's as good an explanation as any. I don't really care. This makes my idea even easier. Come on, let's re-lock that drawer, then take these papers up to my room before someone comes home and catches us. I'll explain when we get up there."

A few minutes later they were back in Akane's bedroom, where they examined their find closely. It was exactly as Akane had thought, and she looked up at Ranma with a conspiratorial expression on her face. "Ranma, you want to marry me, right?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied, intensely worried about where this was headed. "Eventually. But I don't feel like we're ready for that yet. We only kissed for the first time a couple of days ago. For real, anyway. I think it would be a big mistake to get married immediately. We need time to get used to the way we are now."

Akane waved this objection away. "I agree with you. I know I'm not ready, however much my body may be trying to push right now. But I also know that I _do_ want to marry you, and I'm ready to start making plans for a future together with you. Can you say the same?"

"Yeah, I think so." He was puzzled, still not sure where she was going.

"Well, would you object to being married to me in name only?" Her voice was coaxing, trying to convince him. "If we fill in this paperwork and turn it in, we'll be legally married and be the owners of this property. We could tell our fathers to move out if we wanted to, or at least threaten to do so. Frankly, I really want to do so. ..."

"Akane ..." Ranma interrupted, sounding unhappy. "Me telling my pop to get lost, that's one thing. We haven't gotten along too well in a long time. But I hate to think of you and your dad ..."

"Don't you think he deserves it?" Akane asked, bitterly.

Ranma shrugged helplessly.

Akane stared off into space. "This whole business - the spell - has hurt me. A lot. That he'd do something like this, to me ... I'd like things to be the way they used to be, to have my father back. But wishing isn't going to make it so. I need time, to decide if I can forgive him. And it would be best if it were time apart."

Ranma sighed, then nodded. "So ... married, huh?"

Akane nodded in turn. "Yes. And for more than just to get our fathers out of our hair. If we were married, that would go a long way toward dealing with all the others who are chasing us."

"I suppose so," Ranma admitted. "But what about not being ready yet?"

"It would be in name only, for now," Akane told him in serious tones. "It _would_ be a serious commitment, a long step further than just getting engaged. But we wouldn't have to consider ourselves _really_ married yet. Afterward, we can take the time to ... I'm not sure how to say it. To deepen our relationship. To reach the point where we _do_ feel ready. When we _are_ ready, we can have a nice wedding ceremony, and that's when we'll consider ourselves to be _really_ married."

Ranma thought about what she had said. Then he thought about it some more. He wanted to marry her, didn't he? Yes. He wasn't going to be changing his mind, was he? No. This would solve a significant portion of their problems, if it worked out as planned. The more he considered it, the more he liked the idea.

He cleared his throat. "Filling out the paperwork and getting everything legally registered ... You're not planning on letting the families know we're doing it, are you?"

Akane shook her head, grinning. "Nope. Oh, except for Kasumi. I was thinking that we could put her name down as the trustee. I think we might also need a couple of witnesses. I was thinking of my friends Yuka and Sayuri, after I swear them to secrecy. Our fathers won't know anything about it until after it's done."

Ranma nodded, with a grin that was anything but pleasant. "I like it. After all the time they've spent trying to force us to marry, we do it behind their backs, and then kick them out of the house." He took a deep breath. "Okay, I agree, let's do it."

Akane slipped the papers under some books in a drawer of her desk. She was quietly pleased, thinking of their fathers' reactions, and of the looks on the faces of Ukyo, Kodachi, and Shampoo when they found out. Kuno too for that matter; she'd need to remember to bring a camera. "All right," her voice was still serious, but also contained an undercurrent of cold satisfaction. "I'll need to talk to Kasumi to get her to agree to the trustee thing, and I want to bring Yuka and Sayuri in on it like I said. But with any luck we can take care of this tomorrow or the next day. I'm really looking forward to this."

The faces regarding one another were like mirror images, wearing matching thin smiles and looks of anticipation.

* * *

Akane took Kasumi aside later in private, and explained what she wanted. The oldest of Soun's daughters was considerably startled. In fact, she felt somewhat faint, and was forced to sit down. She was the dutiful one. This went against everything inside of her. But after Akane explained exactly where she and Ranma had been over those few days, and why it had been necessary, Kasumi unexpectedly found herself more than willing to go along. 

In fact, in one way at least, she agreed one hundred percent with the plan. Kind as the older sister was, it was easy to get her agreement to toss Genma out of the house. Doing so to their father had taken a lot more convincing, but the story of what had been done to Akane by their father when she was a little girl had brought on one of Kasumi's rare displays of temper. In the end, Kasumi went up to Akane's room and signed the appropriate form, and promised to keep everything secret until they had achieved their goal.

The next morning after breakfast, Akane called Yuka and Sayuri and arranged to meet at Sayuri's house, as she was an only child and both of her parents would be out during the day. Akane swore them to secrecy, then explained how she and Ranma had finally admitted their feelings for one another, and were planning to get legally married immediately.

Once the two girls recovered from their initial shock at the abrupt turnaround in their friend, and assured themselves that Akane was not ill or currently under the influence of any drugs or magic, Akane told them everything. They were both already familiar with some of the insane schemes the fathers had hatched, so understood why Akane felt that this was the best way to handle things. In fact, they were all eagerness to help, finding the situation to be unbearably romantic. The only flaw from their point of view was Akane's insistence that she and Ranma would not consider themselves to be fully married until some later date.

Having covered the reasons behind the decision, they began to discuss the specific details. Finally, they made a phone call back to the Tendo home to speak with Kasumi and Ranma, at which time it was decided to meet at the municipal building at two o'clock that same day. With everything settled, and after the two gave their friend some last hugs and wishes of luck, Akane left to return home.

Kasumi managed to get the parents out of the house after lunch, asking them to go out and pick up supplies needed to repair some damage caused by a recent visit from Ryoga, a couple of weeks ago. Nabiki left for reasons of her own without prompting, to attend to some matter of business, the details of which Kasumi had no desire to know.

Once the coast was entirely clear, Ranma put on the only suit he owned, the same suit he had worn for the previous wedding disaster. He was very grateful that Kasumi had repaired the tears in it, and also glad that he had polished away the scuff marks on the shoes before putting it away. Akane donned a very pretty white dress, and Kasumi helped her to apply make-up with an expert touch. The three left the house together, arriving at the municipal building at the stroke of two, just in time to meet Yuka and Sayuri. The latter pair were both wearing their prettiest dresses.

Their business inside took less than an hour all told, and they emerged into the sunlight once more holding a marriage certificate and the necessary paperwork stating the new ownership of the Tendo property. ‹The Saotome property, now, I suppose,› Akane Saotome thought to herself. She turned and gave Ranma a bright smile. "Are you ready, husband?" she asked.

He gave her a smile in turn, although there was a certain grimness behind it. "As ready as I'll ever be, wife."

Hand in hand, the two newlyweds returned to _their_ home, ready to face the coming storm as adults.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Stick around for the conclusion in chapter 3, "Adulthood."

Yes, Akane and Ranma are eighteen in this story, but they still need parental consent to marry. In Japan, you must be twenty to marry without parental consent. Actually, in Japan, males under eighteen cannot marry even with parental consent (sixteen for females). Events in the manga therefore make it clear that _Ranma 1/2_ is not taking place in _our_ universe.

I meant to mention the following in Chapter 1. Both the story _State of Mine_ (and its sequel _State of Ours_) by Shall-Iin and _newRanma_ by C.Jones were partial inspirations for _Childhood's End_. In both of those stories, Ranma has an organic malfunction affecting the brain which prevents his achieving maturity, and which is corrected by surgery. Although both stories are Ranma/Akane pairings in the _end_, this is only so at the _very_ end for _newRanma_, and so naturally I prefer Shall-Iin's stories (incomplete though the sequel currently is).

Another thing that I meant to mention in my notes after Chapter 1, is to thank everyone for their enjoyment of my stories. Total hit count for all of my stories together passed the hundred thousand mark not too long ago.


	3. Adulthood

**Childhood's End  
By M. Zephyr**

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

Ranma x Akane. Everyone has to grow up sometime.

Warning: there's a small lime scene below.

* * *

**Chapter 3. Adulthood**

As they walked through the gate into their yard on the sunny summer afternoon, Akane turned to ask her new husband, "What order do you want to handle everybody in?" She saw this as almost a form of battle, and decided to follow Ranma's instincts.

"Happosai first," the young man replied, surprising her. "If I fail that, then none of the rest of it's gonna be very meaningful. Also, it'll be easier to cow our fathers if they see me beat him. Which means we wait for them to return." He hesitated. "Besides, there's something I want to try first."

He paused again, and then went on. "After him, our fathers, with what happened to Happosai fresh in their minds. Then Cologne. Shampoo, too, I guess, though it's really Cologne we gotta get through to. If I can't stop them, or they kill me, or God forbid, they kill you ... Well, I have to make sure it turns out the way we want. I don't think it'll matter much what order we go in after that. Don't suppose I could talk you into staying home when I face down Cologne?"

"No," Akane stated firmly.

Ranma sighed. "Didn't think so. Well, there's something I want to try, but I'd rather not say what in case it doesn't work. If you want to watch, meet me back out here in a few minutes, after we change our clothes. Ought to interest you if it works."

"All right," she replied with a smile. Looking down at the papers in her hand, Akane added, "I also need to put the marriage license and copies and everything away. For now. Until it's time to use them."

Kasumi had already gone into the house. Akane and Ranma now followed. Several minutes later, Akane came out and sat on the engawa, noting that Ranma had finished changing before her and was standing out in the yard wearing his usual Chinese shirt and black pants. She watched her fiancé curiously. ‹No,› she corrected herself, ‹my husband now. At least in the eyes of the law.›

Ranma held himself still, blanking his mind, allowing himself to sink almost into a meditative trance. Then he called up the image of the cat he had seen at the temple. It wasn't easy, he still feared the animal and didn't want to think about it. He was, however, determined, and forced himself to hold onto the image, while trying to remember how his senses had felt that day. ‹If this doesn't work, I'll have to ask Akane to borrow one of the neighbor's pets,› he told himself.

He struggled with it for several minutes, but suddenly the world around him clicked into focus. Everything seemed to have harder edges. He was hearing sounds which had passed unnoticed before. Even from where he was standing, he could smell the scent of the perfume that Akane had worn as they signed the forms for their marriage certificate. Underneath that was the scent of the shampoo she used on her hair, and a warm musky smell that went straight to his groin. He turned and smiled at the young woman, then stepped over to the pond and casually cut a set of parallel grooves into one of the rocks surrounding it.

"Ranma?" Akane called out, with mixed curiosity and awe, standing so as to see better. "Are you in the neko-ken? But ... there aren't any cats around."

"I know," Ranma replied, sounding and feeling justifiably smug. His voice had that strange hissing quality that Akane remembered from when he went into the neko-ken at the temple. "I did it by meditating on cats, and on what it feels like to be in this state. I think I can do it anytime I want now." He paused, his confident air faltering. Slightly more subdued, he added, "I'd better see if I can reverse it without having to trigger my curse or take a nap."

He stood in silent thought, trying to reverse the process, concentrating on how his senses normally felt. It occurred to him to include the image of the young woman who was standing nearby, the person his cat self trusted above all others. It took longer this time, but eventually he felt normal again, and noticed that he could no longer smell any of Akane's scents.

"It worked!" he shouted, running over to take Akane in his arms, swinging her around and laughing. "Come on, let's go inside and wait for everyone to come home."

Their parents came back a short time later, but neither Akane nor Ranma bothered to look up from the television show they were watching. It was another hour before Nabiki returned, but when she did the couple turned and nodded to one another. Nabiki walked into the kitchen looking for a snack. The fathers were playing their eternal game of shogi, and Ranma's mother was watching the fathers' game. Just a quiet, peaceful afternoon.

Akane and Ranma stood and stepped outside, although Akane remained on the engawa. Ranma grinned at her and then turned his face toward the sky. Drawing on his chi to amplify his voice, the young man called out at monstrous volume, "Happosai!"

The fathers ran out in shock, making shushing noises. Genma was yelling, "Have you gone mad, boy? Shut up!" Nodoka and Nabiki trailed after, surprised and curious both. Kasumi wandered out as well, drying her hands on a towel.

Ranma shouted again, the sound deafening. "Happosai!"

When Genma started to run out into the yard to stop his son, Akane stuck her foot out and tripped him. He landed face down in the dirt just outside. At that moment everyone's eyes detected a small figure bouncing across the roofs in their direction. Soun let out a dismayed moan and hid his eyes in abject horror.

The dwarfish figure of the world's most perverted martial artist came to a stop on top of the wall surrounding the yard. He was carrying a sack on his back, no doubt filled with underwear stolen off the bodies of young women. The ancient man pulled out his pipe and sucked on it for a moment, before inquiring, "You wanted something, Ranma m'boy?"

Ranma had closed his eyes and gone still as soon as he had seen the figure approaching, concentrating on the cat and seeking the proper mental state. His eyes now opened, and in a slightly hissing voice the young man said, "Yeah, old man. I challenge you for the title of Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts."

A chorus of in-drawn breaths from the direction of the house answered this challenge. Only Akane had possessed an inkling of what to expect. She was also the only one to realize that Ranma was in the neko-ken state. Happosai regarded the young man before him with contempt, before finally responding, "If I accept your challenge, and you lose, then you will at last acknowledge me as your master, and undertake whatever training I require of you."

"Agreed!" hissed Ranma.

Happosai nodded. "Very well. Then I accept your challenge." He dropped down into the yard and released his bag of loot. He smiled grimly and his battle aura flared up to monstrous proportions as he pulled out three Happo fire bursts and threw them in the boy's direction.

With the flare of a chi blast, the bombs detonated before they had crossed half the distance, their ashes floating toward the ground. Ranma's cat instincts were entirely unintimidated by Happosai's battle aura, and he leaped to close the distance between the two of them.

Happosai made a negligent swing with his pipe, intending to use it to throw the boy high into the air. Instead he felt a foot slam into his gut like a battering ram an instant before his back impacted with the wall, shattering the stone. Dazed he looked at the single centimeter of pipe stem left in his fingers, then saw the other pieces of his pipe lying on the ground. ‹Impossible!› he thought. ‹With my aura infusing that pipe, nothing could break it!›

The old man leapt out of the way just in time as Ranma's next kick knocked a hole _through_ the wall. Happosai realized that he'd better recover his focus and fast. He dodged Ranma's next punch, then launched a kick that the boy couldn't possibly dodge in time.

Except that Ranma _did_ manage to flow out of the way, with a hair's breadth to spare. Left exposed by the unexpected miss, a kick caught Happosai in the side of the leg, shattering his knee. The ancient martial artist fell to the ground, his leg no longer able to hold his weight. Barely suppressing a scream, Happosai paled both from the pain and the sudden realization of how deadly earnest Ranma was.

The younger man was forced to pull his next kick, as Happosai's block would otherwise have broken the bone. Ranma saw that the old man apparently had finally realized how serious this fight was, and where it might end. Ranma's dodge took him slightly out of position, allowing Happosai to throw him, but he landed on his feet otherwise unharmed. He rushed back in again.

Ranma's palm strike punched out like a pile driver, and Happosai met it with an open palm, only to scream as they connected. The old man stared in shock at the blood welling from the holes which had been punched _through_ his hand. A fresh wave of realization broke over him, far too late. ‹Claws! The neko-ken! The boy's using the neko-ken! But that's impossible!›

Ranma was coming back in again, blindingly fast, and this time his hand was open, the fingers extended and slightly bent. For all his perversion, Happosai was a supremely talented martial artist, and the lightning fast battle calculator in his head told him he dared not meet that blow, nor could he avoid it. There was only one answer, and he choked out the words, as fast as he could, "I yield!"

Ranma stopped, his claws millimeters short of contact. "Then I am now grandmaster of this school," he grated out in his hissing voice. "From now on you will answer to me for how you use your martial arts, and God help you if I find you wanting."

He turned back to the shocked gathering on the engawa, and loudly declared, "By right of victory, I am now Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School!" In a quieter voice, he called, "Kasumi, would you please call an ambulance for Happosai. He's in need of medical attention."

Ranma's eyes next ran over the people standing on the engawa, before settling on his shaken father. "Pop!" he called out.

Genma jumped backward at the sound of the shout. His mind simply could not grasp what he had just seen his son do, the sheer viciousness of the boy's attack. The eyes he turned toward Ranma had a wild look to them.

His son spoke calmly but forcefully. "I want you to keep an eye on your former master until the ambulance arrives. I'm going back inside."

"N-Nonsense, boy!" his father blustered, looking around shakily. "Kasumi ... no ... Akane! You and Akane. Both of you can stay with him, boy." He turned toward Soun. "Right?"

Still in his own state of shock, Soun Tendo nodded quickly in agreement. He gestured toward his youngest child. Satisfied that they had arranged matters for their own convenience, and that the proper hierarchy of authority was reestablished, the two men turned back to the house to resume their shogi game.

"Hold it!" Ranma commanded. He took three long strides, whereupon he seized his startled sire by his gi and heaved the man into the air, tossing him easily into the koi pond. "I told _you_ to stay with Happosai," the new grandmaster stated firmly. "Don't make me tell you again."

The sodden panda bear slowly pulled himself from the pond and settled himself on the grass some distance from his defeated elder. Genma was looking around in amazement at the normal appearance of the surrounding buildings, since it felt to him as if the world had just turned upside down.

As everyone else moved back inside, Nodoka gushed ecstatically over her wonderfully _manly_ son, while Soun alternated between weeping and pounding Ranma on the back. Akane and Kasumi offered milder congratulations. Nabiki disappeared, practically running up her room. She was anxious to haul out her books and get in touch with her contacts to adjust the odds on any future fights that Ranma might get into.

The ambulance came and went, and Genma strolled back indoors, though he didn't bother to resume his human form immediately. Ranma lifted an eyebrow at Akane, and saw her take a deep breath, then climb to her feet. She left the room to go upstairs, where she paused to knock on Nabiki's door, telling her sister that she and Ranma wanted to speak with everyone downstairs. Akane then went into her room and pulled out the photocopies they had requested of the various documents.

Akane found everyone gathered around the low table when she got back downstairs. She went over and knelt beside Ranma, their shoulders practically touching. Nabiki cocked an ironic eyebrow in their direction at the sight, but neither one gave her any response. Akane consulted Ranma by eye and then, holding the papers face down in her lap, began the tale.

"A few days ago, Doctor Tofu noticed something strange about Ranma and myself. It seems ... well, that Nabiki was more right than ... than any of us knew. As it turns out, Ranma and I were mentally and emotionally _incapable_ of maturing. Doctor Tofu thought that maybe something had been done to us at some point, something that caused this."

So far all of the eyes turned toward her simply looked bewildered.

"Well, Ranma thought ... and I agreed ... that as screwed up as all this was, that it sounded like a scheme of our fathers. So we went digging through Saotome-san's old journals. ..."

The panda looked up, startled and more than a little frightened.

"... We discovered that _both_ our loving _fathers_ had performed some sort of magical ritual on us when we were five years old. Something that they thought would allow them to control us. Though as was only to be expected from one of Saotome-san's schemes, he had gotten it completely wrong. Freezing us at a pre-adolescent mental state was merely a side effect, which he had probably conveniently ignored."

Both fathers looked frightened, just like deer staring at approaching headlights. Kasumi's eyes were turned downward, studying her knees. Nabiki was just plain stunned, her mouth open, frozen in surprise. Nodoka's face was rapidly moving toward an eruption, having understood that her fool husband had done something to her son which would prevent him from fathering children. Her hand was already starting to slide her katana from its sheath.

"No, mom," Ranma said to her, quietly but firmly. Her hand paused, though it did not retreat. "The reason Akane and I went away for a few days was to get this mess reversed. We figured out where pop found this piece of stupidity, and there was this priest there who was able to undo it. We're both fine now, or ... at least recovering quickly." He smirked widely, smug and cocky. "I even got control of the neko-ken as an unexpected bonus."

"The ... neko-ken?" Nodoka repeated, inquisitively.

"Heh, yeah," he replied. "Sorry, forgot you didn't know about that yet. I'll explain later, sometime when pop's far away." His mother looked dubious, but did not immediately pursue the matter.

Akane took up the thread once more. "So like Ranma said, we're cured. Well, healing, anyway. We've gone through some pretty rapid changes the past few days, both mental and emotional." She scowled, her face grim. "And one of those changes is that neither of us feels inclined to put up with any of the usual crap anymore. So we've decided to do some things about it."

"What ... things?" Soun asked, worried. Were they about to lose all chance of ever uniting the schools?

Akane pulled out one of the pieces of paper and tossed it onto the table, face up. "For starters, my name is now Akane Saotome."

With the exception of Kasumi, everyone sat there staring at her for several seconds, the blinking of their eyes the only thing about them which was moving. Then as one they all leaned forward to look at the paper, little indrawn hisses of breath the only sound as they identified it as a marriage certificate, and read the names on it. Suddenly the two fathers jumped to their feet, arms linked, man and panda dancing around the room, exclaiming with joy about how their children had finally seen the light.

Nabiki's eyes were calculating, figures running through her head, as she contemplated the payoffs on several bets. Nodoka turned hurt eyes on her son. "You did this, without telling me?"

"Yeah mom," he told her, without apology. "This was between Akane and me. We're planning to have the ceremony later, probably several months from now. That'll be more meaningful for everyone anyway."

His mother gazed at him coolly, but then sighed and nodded, dropping her eyes. "As you say. And I suppose I can understand your feelings in the matter, after the way I helped your father plan the last two attempts."

Ranma thanked her quietly for understanding, then looked over with displeasure at the two fathers. Genma had changed back to human, and they were breaking out the sake in order to celebrate. Ranma cleared his throat and then announced, "We're not done yet."

The two men looked over at him, startled, and Ranma pointed to their positions at the table. Reluctantly, they came back over and resumed those positions, looking at him questioningly.

Akane spoke again. "As part of the plan for our marriage to unite the schools and reopen the dojo, Ranma and I were to inherit this house and the property it is on. The two of you had conveniently already filled out the forms for us." She pulled out a couple of more sheets and tossed them onto the table.

Looking closely, Nabiki and the parents saw that Ranma and Akane were now the owners of the property, with Kasumi given as their trustee. Genma snarled his displeasure at this last fact. Soun looked up and said, a little helplessly, "Well, I don't think I would have named Kasumi as the trustee. But this is more or less what I intended."

"Perhaps you did, daddy," Akane replied sweetly, but with something in her words which sent shivers down his spine. "On the other hand, you also intended to control me, when you used that ... that thing ... that ritual on me. A piece of magic which was created for use on slaves. You never expected me to find out about that, did you?"

Her eyes were like ice cold drills, piercing through him, as she continued speaking. "So I have to wonder, was that what you wanted? Did you intend to make _me_ - your own daughter - a slave? Did you ever consider the consequences? Did you expect how I would feel toward you right now? Did you intend for disgust to be the only thing I feel when I look at you? No, of course not. Because I was never supposed to find out."

Tears filled Soun's eyes. His mouth opened, though whether to explain or beg forgiveness was not apparent, since no words came out. Most likely, he didn't know himself what he wanted to say.

Akane's eyes narrowed further, and her voice became even colder. "So tell me, father, when you did this, did you imagine that I would be able to forgive you? I assure you that if I do, it won't be very soon. Did you think at all?" She paused, before her next words fell into the still room like lead weights. "Did you intend for a day to come when I would _order_ you to leave _my_ house?"

"What? What?" Soun spluttered. Genma looked ashen.

Ranma's voice was as cold as Akane's. "You heard her, Tendo-san. You too, pop. This is our house now. And you're not welcome. Maybe we'll forgive you two one day. Well, I'm pretty sure Akane will, at least. But not today. We want you to pack up, and get out."

Genma blustered. "Now stop talking foolishness, boy. You know you don't mean that."

Ranma turned a glare on his father. "We do mean it pop. I warn you, don't doubt that for a second. You can walk out of here under your own steam, or I can throw you out. Your choice. Please bear in mind what happened to Happosai a little while ago."

"But where are we supposed to go?" Soun wailed.

Ranma shrugged. "If I understand right, Mom's house is livable again. Pop's her husband. Maybe you can both live there, if she'll have you. Otherwise, it's up to you."

"Am I also ordered from your house, Ranma?" Nodoka asked, her voice hard.

Ranma sighed. "Naw. It's up to you, really. You can stay if you want. Or you can go home, with or without your husband. If you do decide to go home, you can come back and visit whenever you want. I would prefer it if you'd start leaving the sword at home though. It ... carries unpleasant associations."

Nodoka closed her eyes, breathing in and then out, releasing some of her tensions as she did so. "I will think on this further, then." Opening her eyes, she turned a deadly glare on Genma. "I also need to discuss matters with my ... husband. Concerning consequences of foolish decisions." Genma looked ready to pass out from panic, as he watched her finger the hilt of the katana at her side.

Akane turned to her middle sister, whose mouth was gaping like a fish. "Close your mouth, Nabiki, you look dumb like that." The mouth closed with a snap. "Just to be clear, sister, you're welcome to stay at our house too. Of course, any further attempts to blackmail us, or sell photos of us, or exploit us in any way, and we might have to reevaluate that decision."

Nabiki managed to refocus her glazed eyes. "Right," she managed to grind out, barely hearing herself speak, struggling to come to grips with all of the sudden changes. She was going to have to go and recalculate all of the damned odds _again_!

"One more thing," Ranma said, turning to Nabiki and fishing in his pocket. He held out two 1000 yen notes. "Can you tell me whether Cologne owns the Nekohanten, or just rents the building?"

Nabiki pulled herself back to the present. Her voice sounded a little hoarse. "Er, she owns it. Wait. How the hell did you know I'd know that?"

Ranma shrugged. "I didn't. But you know plenty of little tidbits, and I didn't figure it could hurt to ask."

"Now if you'll excuse us," Ranma said, rising to his feet, offering Akane a hand up, "there are some other people we need to go speak to. You two old farts are to be out of the house by noon tomorrow. Don't try anything stupid while we're gone. Kasumi will be keeping an eye on things and believe me, I'll track you down if I have to." Akane picked up the copy of the marriage certificate in passing.

Five pairs of eyes watched as the couple swept from the room. They heard them slipping shoes on, and the front door closed, followed by the gate. Silence reigned for some time in the room they had left, while the inhabitants thereof struggled to come to grips with all that had passed.

* * *

Akane and Ranma marched down the street, side by side, in the direction of the Nekohanten. They exuded an aura which caused the people ahead of them on the sidewalk to unconsciously step aside and let them pass.

"Are you planning to use the neko-ken again?" Akane asked, her voice a mixture of seriousness and curiosity.

Ranma pursed his lips. "I'm going to have it ready. I'll threaten her with it before I use it. I think the old ghoul is smarter than Happosai, and will see reason without making me put her in the hospital. Or the morgue."

"Just make sure you don't end up in either of those places yourself," Akane replied, with a slight catch in her voice.

The young man beside her smiled. "I'll do my best, 'kane. I'm fairly confident. Besides, I'm hoping Cologne ain't stupid enough to take big risks just to force me to join the Joketsuzoku. I mean, is the payoff really worth it to her?"

Akane nodded. If they had to convince Shampoo, then all bets were off. But Cologne was older and wiser, and might see reason. She glanced over at Ranma. "What was that bit about who owned the Nekohanten?"

Ranma's lips curled vindictively. "Just wondering who would suffer most if there's any, er, collateral damage, sorta."

Akane would have asked more, but at that moment both of the teenage martial artists sensed an attack, and dove to either side. Tatewaki Kuno landed on the sidewalk, wielding a katana which slashed down through the space Ranma had occupied a bare moment before. Its steel cut a long groove into the cement.

The kendoist spun around with a horizontal slash of his blade. "Vile sorcerer! The day has come at last when I shall smite thee and free the fair Akane Tendo from thy wicked enslavement!"

From behind them a ribbon snapped out, barely missing Akane as she ducked to the side to avoid it. Kodachi Kuno let loose a peal of maniacal laughter, followed by the declaration, "Peasant wench! You will stay away from my wonderful Ranma-sama!"

Akane turned to glare at her rival, slipping without conscious thought into a fighting stance. Kodachi felt herself falter slightly at the sight. The accustomed flames of hot anger were not present in Akane's eyes. Only cold calculation resided there. Recovering her poise, Kodachi lifted her ribbon to strike once more.

For Ranma, dealing with Tatewaki was frankly rather anticlimactic, after having faced down Happosai earlier that day. A few seconds later, he was sitting on the unconscious boy, tossing the sword into the air repeatedly and catching it, while watching Akane fight with Kodachi.

Not that the battle between the two girls lasted much longer. Kodachi hadn't thought to arm herself with any drugs, and only knew how to fight with her weapons. Akane labored under no such handicap, and in the absence of any restrictions against unarmed combat was by far the better martial artist. She stepped inside a club thrust, folded Kodachi over with a punch to the gut, then put her out with an elbow to the back of her head.

Akane turned and shot Ranma a sunny smile. "What do you say to a change of plans? It seems fate wants us to deal with the Kuno's before the Amazons."

Ranma returned her smile. "Oh well, if you're going to insist ..." They each lifted an unconscious opponent over a shoulder, and set off in the direction of the Kuno estate.

The Kuno siblings awoke at the same time, spluttering, shaking their heads to clear their eyes and nostrils of the water which Akane poured on them. Quickly taking stock of their situation, they found that they were tied to chairs in the kitchen of their own home. When they looked up, they saw Ranma and Akane standing near the sink, staring at them.

Kodachi found her tongue first. "Ranma-sama, please untie me! Let us dispose of this child and retire to my rooms together."

Her brother struggled against his bonds before glaring at the pigtailed boy, declaring, "It is the mark of a dishonorable cur such as yourself that you would bind your opponent, rather than facing his skill in battle!"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "We got a couple things to say to you, and show you. Then we'll let you go. Akane?"

The girl beside him pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it. She then stepped up in front of Tatewaki, holding it where he could see it. A few seconds passed before his face paled, and then grew red with fury. He turned his incandescent gaze on Ranma but he had been rendered speechless, his mouth working vigorously but unable to form intelligible words. Kodachi watched this with considerable amusement, but also a touch of concern.

Akane stepped over and held the paper in front of Kodachi. It didn't take her long to realize that it was a copy of a marriage certificate, and that Akane's and Ranma's names were on it. Kodachi soon found herself in the exact same state as Tatewaki.

Ranma sighed, then picked up the pitcher Akane had used before, and splashed both of the Kuno's again. They both managed to find their voices, but were spouting little more than strings of curses. Ranma sighed again, signaled to Akane, then she stepped in front of Tatewaki, Ranma stepped in front of Kodachi, and two hands slapped across two faces simultaneously.

Before they could start up again, Akane took the floor. "Okay, we got the idea. You don't approve. You know what? Too bad. Ranma and I are married now, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's official. You can complain, yell, scream, even fight us, but it won't change anything. We'll still be married."

Kodachi turned puppy dog eyes on Ranma. "Surely you cannot wish to be married to this harridan?"

Ranma nodded. "Yes I can. I'm married to her and that's the way it's going to stay."

Tatewaki tried to reason with his love, at least as he saw it. "Akane Tendo, you must see that he holds you under a spell. Please, I will help you to break it and set you free."

Akane looked at him with disgust. "My name is Akane Saotome now. And you're a delusional fool, a coward who hides from the truth. I love Ranma, I'm married to him, and you will dishonor yourself and your name by trying to come between us."

Tatewaki turned to Ranma, and his lip curled. "So. If you have married my fierce tigress, do you intend to set my pigtailed goddess free? Or do you intend to keep your hold on both of them?"

Ranma laughed mirthlessly. "That's the next thing we're gonna show you, and maybe this time you'll finally get it through your head. You've called me a sorcerer often enough. Do you really believe in magic?"

The bound boy proclaimed haughtily, "As I know you to be a sorcerer, I necessarily must believe in magic."

Ranma nodded. "Right. Well, I'm not a sorcerer, but I do have a magical problem. A curse, that I received a short time before I arrived in Nerima." He refilled the pitcher then stepped in front of Tatewaki. Kodachi watched in confusion wondering what her Ranma was talking about.

Ranma reached out and placed a hand on Tatewaki's shoulder, gripping it. The other boy flinched, but could not get away. Ranma looked at him coldly. "Now pay attention to that hand that's on your shoulder. I'm not gonna let go. And watch me very carefully while I pour this water over my head. For once, try to believe what your eyes are telling you!"

With that he poured, and both Tatewaki and his sister watched as Ranma was replaced by the red-haired girl known to them as 'the pigtailed goddess.' Tatewaki was struggling with what he had seen, for he had inadvertently heeded Ranma's words and paid attention to the hand which had never left his shoulder, the hand which was now at the end of the arm belonging to the girl standing before him.

"Yeah, it's still me," this girl said. "Ranma Saotome. I'm cursed to turn into a girl whenever I'm splashed with cold water. Hot water returns me to my true body."

"Impossible!" the boy whispered, yet his face was milky. He wanted to disbelieve, wanted it desperately. This must be some trick. It must!

"It's me, Kuno. All the people at school know about my curse. Just ask any of 'em. You two are the only people who refused to see it, for some reason. I'm tired of you chasing after me. I'm a guy, and it just makes me sick. I want you to stop."

Tatewaki was shaking his head, moaning. Akane brought over more water, hot then cold. Ranma kept his hand on the other boy's shoulder as he changed gender, male and female again.

A keening sound came from Tatewaki's mouth. He wanted to escape, wanted it to be a dream. He closed his eyes and opened them again, but the red-haired girl was still in front of him. Tatewaki whispered, "Saotome? Ranma?"

Ranma nodded. The young man in front of him closed his eyes in pain, trying to shut out the sight, trying to hide from the memory of his proclamations of love. It was useless, yet he tried.

Kodachi was also struggling with the notion. She had unwillingly watched Ranma and the red-haired girl swap places. Her brother had called this girl Ranma, acted as if she and her Ranma-sama were one and the same person. That couldn't be possible!

Ranma stepped over to her, and put his arms on both of her shoulders. Kodachi flinched also, trying not to look into the eyes of the redhead before her. "Akane?" Ranma requested. Akane stepped over with a kettle of hot water, and poured. Tatewaki had also opened his eyes, and both of the Kuno's watched the girl transform once more into the male they knew as Ranma.

"Nooooo!" Kodachi wailed.

"Now hopefully that got through to you," Ranma said. "Akane and I are tired of your nonsense, and we're not inclined to put up with it anymore. We're married now, and you're either gonna leave us alone, or else. Now I'm gonna take a moment and show you what 'or else' might involve."

He closed his eyes and stood still for a moment. When he opened them he nodded to Akane, who walked over to the counter and picked something up. Brother and sister saw that it was a katana, the very one with which Tatewaki had attacked Ranma earlier. Akane held it out for their examination, then raised it in front of Ranma.

He swept his hand across in front of the sword. The blade fell in four pieces on the floor, leaving only a hilt in Akane's hand. The jaws of the Kuno siblings dropped.

Then Ranma stepped in front of Tatewaki and looked him straight in the eyes. Ranma's eyes held no warmth, no pity. He held a hand out, bringing the fingertips close to the other boy's chest. Remembering what he had just seen those fingers do, Tatewaki was unable to suppress a whimper. As Ranma drew his fingertips down the boy's torso, the ropes binding him to the chair parted, the ends cut cleanly. Long slices opened in the material of his shirt, beads of blood appearing along shallow scratches beneath those tears. The fingertips stopped just above the young man's groin, as Ranma looked into Tatewaki's eyes meaningfully. The young man in the chair was shivering uncontrollably, and his muscles involuntarily relaxed.

Stepping away from the humiliated boy whose wrists were still bound to the arms of the chair, Ranma turned to Kodachi. "Do you need a similar demonstration?" he hissed. His fingertips were already waving over her stomach, cutting short slices in the cloth covering it. Eyes full of fear, Kodachi shook her head.

Ranma then moved back beside Akane, and fixed both Kuno's with an icy glare. His voice when it came still had the strange, hissing quality they had heard when he spoke to Kodachi. It was a voice which sent shivers down their spines.

"I got no desire to use these claws on people. But I have had it with you two. Keep your distance. I've always held back when fighting you two before. I ain't gonna trouble myself to do that any longer. I'd just as soon not put either of you in the hospital, or worse." His eyes became even colder, and his voice dropped lower, a dangerously feral note entering it. "But I'll do it if I have to."

Akane spoke up one last time. "We told your servants to stay out of the kitchen while we talked to you. Once we leave I'm sure they'll come in here and finish untying you." She reached over to take Ranma's hand, and the two of them departed together. Both of them ignored the puddle under Tatewaki's chair.

* * *

On leaving the Kuno estate and setting out for the Nekohanten once more, Ranma thought about the fact that Ucchan's was within a block of the most direct route between the two. He gave a deep sigh as he decided that he might as well talk to Ukyo next. After telling Akane of this decision, the two of them argued for the next eight blocks until they reached Ucchan's, regarding whether Akane would accompany Ranma inside. They spent a few more minutes on the argument outside the door. Finally, Akane huffed and leaned against the exterior wall while Ranma stepped inside.

"Ranma honey!" Ukyo cried gladly. "Have a seat! I'll have one of my specials ready for you in just a moment!"

Ranma shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Can I talk to you in back?"

Ukyo looked him over, puzzled. She then turned to her helper, Konatsu. "Mind the store for a bit, would you sugar? Ranchan and I have to talk."

In the back room they sat down at a table. Ukyo inquired brightly, "What's on your mind, Ranchan?"

Ranma wasn't returning her smile. His voice was very serious. "There have been some big changes in the last few days, and I'm here to tell you about them. I don't want to drag it out, so I'm gonna tell you quick and to the point.

"A few days ago we discovered that my pop did something to me when I was five that prevented me from growing up emotionally. Tendo-san did the same thing to Akane. After we found out, we were able to get it cured. After that, we were able to stop acting so stupid around each other and say how we really felt. Then, well, ..." He pulled out the marriage certificate and pushed it across the table.

Ukyo had been looking increasingly worried with each sentence, and now her face paled as she took in what was lying on the table in front of her. He wasn't even telling her that he'd _decided_ to marry Akane, something that she might have been able to talk him out of. He was telling her that he'd _already_ married Akane. She stared down at the demon paper, wanting to believe that this was all some horrible nightmare.

"Nice of you to warn me what you were planning," she got out, in a voice which was brittle with pain.

Ranma closed his eyes. "I'm sorry Ukyo, but there wasn't time. Besides, there were too many other serious problems we had to deal with at the same time. We had to try to take care of everything at once, not try to stretch it out."

"So that's it, huh?" Ukyo said acidly. "It's all over now. Bad luck, Kuonji. Sorry about your dowry. Yeah, you were my fiancée, but you know how it is."

Ranma opened his eyes again, and now there was a glint of ice lying within their warmth. "Akane was my fiancée too, and she was there first. And besides, she was the one I loved. I'm sorry you thought I could love you, but there was never anything there like that. I just wanted to be friends, but you weren't satisfied with that. You wanted something more, something I just can't give you. I'm sorry about that. Sorry that things got so screwed up. But there's only so much I can do to fix things, and I'm afraid that marrying you isn't one of 'em."

"What do I do now?" She was starting to cry.

Ranma crossed his arms, speaking with conviction. "You go on living. You run your restaurant. Some day you meet some guy who'll be happy running a restaurant with you, you get married and you have a family. If you decide you want to be friends with me and Akane, let us know, and we'll give it another shot. If not, I'll understand, and accept that too."

Ukyo's face was in her hands now. She wanted to get up and grab her battle spatula, but didn't think her legs would hold her. "Please leave, Saotome. I need to think."

Ranma retrieved the certificate, then stood and left the room. Peeking between her fingers, Ukyo saw that he didn't even spare her a backward glance.

* * *

They were standing outside of the Nekohanten, looking at the diners through the window. "Ready?" Akane whispered.

"Yep," replied Ranma. "You?" Akane nodded in answer.

Ranma had slipped back into the neko-ken, just in case, although as he had told Akane, he was planning to handle things differently from what he had done with Happosai. They strolled through the door into the restaurant.

"Airen!" Shampoo cried out, catching sight of him. "You come see Shampoo! Why you bring violent girl? We go out on date now, yes?"

Ranma sighed. "I want to speak to you and Cologne. Is she in the kitchen?"

At that moment the withered old Amazon elder hopped into the dining area from the kitchen, balanced on her staff. "Hello, son-in-law! What brings you here today? And why is the Tendo girl with you?"

Akane's eyes narrowed into slits, and the corners of her mouth turned up. "Not 'Tendo' anymore, elder." She held out the copy of the marriage certificate.

Cologne took the paper warily, and her eyes scanned over it quickly. A dark frown crossed her face, and she was tempted to shred the paper. That would be a pointless gesture, however, to waste on a photocopy. She released it instead, letting it drift to the floor. "A meaningless document," the old woman stated. People sitting at the tables were beginning to watch the little drama.

"What is it, great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked, looking down at the paper.

Cologne answered drily, "A marriage certificate for these two, stating that they are married under Japanese law."

Shampoo's eyes suddenly focused angrily on Akane, as she muttered, "Husband stealer."

"I've made my choice," Ranma stated firmly. "I've married Akane. I ain't ever coming back to China with you. I ain't ever gonna marry Shampoo. Fact is, I don't ever wanna see her again. I've come here to warn you to stay away from us." Several of the diners started looking nervous upon hearing this.

Cologne's eyes narrowed. It was unexpected to hear him sound so decisive in matters of the heart. She told him, "Your opinions do not matter. Our law says that you must marry Shampoo."

Ranma bared his teeth. "As it happens, I don't give a damn about your laws. I will never marry Shampoo, and there's nothing you can do about it. If she or you bother us any further, you _will_ regret it."

Cologne practically hissed. "I am an elder of the Joketsuzoku, boy, a hundred years older than you and vastly more experienced. Do you truly think that you can take me on?"

Ranma did hiss. "That would make you, what, about the same age as Happosai? By the way, did I mention that I'm now the Grandmaster of Anything Goes? I defeated Happosai earlier today. Put him in the hospital."

Cologne drew back, startled, eyes blinking. In a normal fight, she would feel confident of her ability to defeat Happosai, as the old lecher was easily distracted. If he had been defending his grandmastership, however ... if he were to give it his all, the old woman was unsure that she would be able to achieve more than a draw. She ground her teeth, wondering if Ranma was attempting some sort of bluff.

Ranma leaned forward. "You heard what happened at Jusendo, didn't you? Are you sure you want to risk making me angry?"

The level of tension in the room finally proved too great for the customers. They rose from their tables and fled from the restaurant. Mousse came in from the back room, wearing his glasses for once. He was wondering what all of the commotion was about, but stopped in his tracks as he saw the tableau in front of him. As bizarre as it seemed, it looked almost like Ranma was _threatening_ Cologne.

"Yes, I heard what happened at Jusendo," Cologne replied icily. "Somewhat abbreviated accounts at first from Shampoo and Mousse, but I got fuller accounts from them once I heard from our village and knew what questions to ask. I also know that you were in an extreme and extraordinary situation at Jusendo. A situation which left you with an inescapable choice."

She gave a harsh laugh, and then went on. "That doesn't pertain here. I've watched you, young Ranma, for two years now. I know you better than you know yourself. You would not release such power here, so don't bother to try to pretend that you will."

The younger Amazon spoke, her eyes never leaving Akane's face. "Shampoo, however, is Amazon warrior. When I threaten, it real. Kitchen destroyer try to steal Shampoo's airen. So Shampoo kill now."

Ranma's voice dropped to a frozen level colder than the void. "There have been changes lately. And maybe you don't know me quite as well as you think." He held his arms in front of him, and light blossomed around his hands. Almost too fast to follow, it blazed forth like twin suns, and then Ranma raised his arms and released it skyward. Only when the light was gone did everyone realize that they had nearly been deafened by the roar.

Cologne looked upward to where the light had disappeared. There was no longer a ceiling above her head. For that matter, there was no longer a second floor, an attic, or a roof. Her eyes slowly dragged back down to gaze upon Ranma once more. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Shampoo was still staring upward, frozen in place.

Cologne noticed that Ranma was leaning one hand against a screen. He was slowly moving his fingertips up and down along it, leaving long gashes behind as he did so. The old woman felt her eye begin to twitch.

The Amazon elder was indeed about the same age as Happosai, but she wasn't quite as slow on the uptake. She had fought Ranma in the neko-ken before, when his human intellect had not been in control, and had called the battle off rather than risk defeat. She also seemed to be in error about his willingness to use the chi techniques with which he had killed Saffron. She calculated her odds if she fought the boy, and didn't like the numbers she came up with. Cologne was well over one hundred years old, and knew the value of her skin.

The elder opened her mouth, but only a rusty sound emerged. Flushing with embarrassment, she cleared her throat and tried again. "Will you swear a vow that so long as we leave you, and yours, in peace that you will leave us in peace?"

Ranma nodded. "I so swear, on my honor as a martial artist."

Shampoo finally dragged her eyes back down on hearing this. "Great-grandmother ...?"

"It is over, granddaughter," the ancient woman stated in tones which would brook no denial. "It is time to prepare for our return to China." From his position well to her rear, Mousse suddenly grinned.

Shampoo turned toward Ranma. "Airen ...?"

Ranma spoke coldly, "Never call me that again." Akane picked up the dropped photocopy, and the two of them turned and walked out through the now rather pointless door.

* * *

On the walk back to their house, Akane cheerfully remarked, "Kind of amazing how quickly we could get everything sorted out once we put our minds to it, isn't it?"

"Mmm," Ranma hummed, noncommittally. "I'll grant you the Amazons have decided to leave us be, and that's a big one. Ukyo hasn't promised yet, though. Mind you, I think she will, but I don't want to get my hopes up too high until I'm sure."

Akane sighed. "I suppose so. For that matter, I suppose we can't be certain of the Kuno's either. They certainly _seemed_ to get the message at the end there, but as delusional as they are, I guess there's no guarantee they won't be back to cause more trouble."

"For that matter, we haven't dealt with Ryoga yet, either," Ranma added gloomily.

"Oh, come on, Ranma," Akane cajoled him. "I had hoped that now you're more grown up, you'd be able to get along with him. Why not try?"

Ranma grunted, examining his feet. He looked up again, staring off into the distance. Finally, speaking slowly and choosing his words carefully, he said, "There's more to it than you know, Akane. A lot more. There's reasons I haven't told you before, but ... with my new perspective, they're not really very good reasons. Or at least, not good enough."

He looked down again, and kicked a stone along the street. "Trouble is, I'm not sure how to tell you about it. It's a real tangled mess, like a lot of stuff in my life. I'd like a day or two to think it over first. It's not very pressing, anyway, unless Ryoga shows up again."

Akane was looking at him strangely. She puffed out a breath. "Okayyy."

Ranma gave a small, apologetic smile, and they continued on their way home.

* * *

Dinner that night was a tense affair, as was breakfast the next morning. Nodoka announced her intention to return to her own home, and granted permission to her husband and his friend to come and live with her for the time being, provided that they behaved themselves. There was considerable wailing on Soun Tendo's part as he packed his things, but before lunchtime the gate had closed behind them and only the three sisters and Ranma were left in the house.

"So, brother-in-law," Nabiki drawled, "are you and Akane going to move into daddy's bedroom now?"

"Say what?" Ranma looked rather startled.

"Well it is the master bedroom, after all," she pointed out. "You and Akane are married now, and own the house. The bedroom you've been sleeping in is the _guest_ room. It only makes sense to move into the master bedroom, and make the guest room available for guests again."

Ranma looked over at Akane, whose response was tentative. "I ... hadn't really thought about it. I suppose it does make sense, at least for Ranma to move into it. Now that daddy has moved out, it's empty. On the other hand, I don't intend to share a bedroom with Ranma until after the wedding ceremony."

"Er, what do you think, Kasumi?" Ranma asked the oldest girl.

"I think Nabiki is right," she replied quietly. "This house belongs to you and Akane, now. Even if you decide to let daddy move back in later, it should be made clear to him that he is the guest and not you. This would be the simplest way to drive that point home."

"Sure you don't want to move into the room with him, little sis?" Nabiki asked with a wicked grin. "I mean, the two of you are married. Seems a pity not to take advantage of it."

Akane eyed her middle sister with little favor, then shocked her by saying, "I'll admit to being strongly tempted. However, we will wait until we're married for real. Meaning, after the ceremony, when we'll feel like we're married."

Nabiki shrugged, trying to hide her surprise. "Okay, now what about money? How are you planning to support your household?"

It was Ranma's turn to look surprised. "There isn't a mortgage, is there? I didn't think your father was bringing in that much money."

Nabiki smirked. "Don't you think you should have considered such things _before_ throwing daddy out? You're lucky, though. You're right, there is no mortgage, and there's a trust fund from momma's side of the family which has been covering the taxes and will continue to do so. Still, daddy did bring in some money, some investments he inherited and money from work he did for the city. That was covering groceries, clothing, school fees, utility bills, and all of that fun stuff. I assume you don't want to do without those things?"

"What about all the money you've been bringing in?" asked Ranma.

"Moi?" she asked innocently, hand over her heart. "Sorry to disappoint you, brother-in-law, but most of that has been sunk into my college education. I have been putting away a little on the side, and now that it's your house instead of daddy's, I _suppose_ it's only fair if I contribute a little something so long as I'm living here. But that won't come close to covering all the costs. Besides, let's be fair. You'll be responsible for half of our food bills all by yourself."

Ranma grimaced, but had to admit the annoying girl had a point.

"Ranma?" Akane got her nominal husband's attention. "What if we reopen the dojo and try to get some students? We probably couldn't make a very good living at it while we're still students ourselves, but maybe we could make enough to get by. Don't you think?"

Ranma thought about it and then agreed. "Sounds like the best idea we're likely to come up with. Minimum wage jobs aren't likely to cover the bills, and martial arts is about all I know. It means we're gonna be pretty busy for the next several months, between that and school, but I suppose that's the price we gotta pay for getting control of our lives back."

Akane nodded. "Okay, that's settled. So, we know what we're going to be doing, and Nabiki has her future mapped out." She turned to her oldest sister. "How about you, oneechan? While we'd miss you if you left, don't you want to have your own life at some point? The idea that several years from now, your life might still revolve around taking care of the house, well that bothers me."

"Oh my," Kasumi exclaimed, "I don't know. I'd never really given thought to anything beyond keeping our home together until my two little sisters grew up. But now you're both growing up. I ... I guess I should start thinking about what comes next."

Akane suggested slyly, "Perhaps it's time to put more effort into corralling a certain doctor?"

Kasumi colored prettily. "It's a nice dream," she whispered, "but he's never been able to take me seriously."

"You mean he goes completely batty in your presence," Ranma said bluntly.

"I wish there was something we could do to help," Akane offered wistfully.

Ranma also wished there was something they could do for Kasumi, some way to get Tofu to cope with being near her. Unbidden, memories came to him of his training to endure the cold. He had been forced to spend ever increasing amounts of time in an icy stream until he was able to tolerate it for long periods.

Ranma cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the girls. "How about I start inviting Tofu over from time to time, and we try to build up his resistance? You see? The first few times, he'll know that Kasumi's in the house, but she stays out of sight. Then we let him get a few glimpses. Then say hello. Keep working up to it gradually. Think it might work?"

All three sisters were looking at him with raised eyebrows. "You know, brother-in-law," Nabiki told him, "that's not a bad idea. I think we should try it." Kasumi agreed with a shy nod.

* * *

Ranma moved his meager belongings into the master bedroom the next day. Spread out, they left the room looking rather bare, although it would have been worse if it weren't for the furniture which had been left behind. As he was surveying the result, Akane stepped in and looked around.

"Huh," she said with a grin. "Maybe I ought to take Nabiki's suggestion and move in here after all. It might not look so empty."

Ranma turned and gave her a leer, though it was a little too exaggerated due to lack of practice. "If you do decide to move in with me, I won't object."

Akane laughed, then pulled out a tiny mallet and tapped him on the head with it. "You can just wait 'til we're married, buster. Though I hope you won't mind if I visit you frequently."

Ranma stepped up to her, taking her in his arms. "Like now?" he murmured, then lowered his lips to Akane's. She kissed him back, and while doing so lifted one foot and kicked out behind her, causing the door to shut, but not noticing it hadn't latched. Ranma lifted her up without breaking the kiss and took a couple of steps back until he could sit on the bed, pulling her into his lap as he did so.

Akane broke the kiss, then traced a fingertip around Ranma's chest while she put her mouth up beside his ear. She whispered, "When you confronted Cologne, I was frightened of what might happen. But once it was over with, and we were safely away, I felt so ... _hot_ ... remembering how you looked." She nibbled at his ear lobe. "I'm starting to feel that way again, just thinking about it."

They started kissing again. After a couple of minutes Akane grabbed Ranma's shirt and pulled it off of him, so that she could run her hands across his bare chest and back. A minute later, she grabbed the hem of her own shirt and pulled it off as well. They slid back until they were both lying on the bed, and continued their caresses.

* * *

P-chan was lost yet again, wandering around some building, looking for anything recognizable. The black piglet had been caught in an alley when a rainstorm hit, and a pack of dogs had chased him through the streets for what had seemed like hours before he lost them. He stepped through a doorway and stopped, beholding a very familiar sight. ‹This is Akane's room! Yes! Wait, no! I wanted to find Akari's farm. Well, maybe I can find some hot water and something to wear.› He trotted back out, looking for the furoba.

He was prancing down a hallway past a door, when he stopped at the sound of a familiar voice. Listening more closely, he heard someone he was able to clearly identify as Akane say, "You shouldn't do that!" However, while parsing the words, he failed to detect the giggle in her voice, and began to get angry. To his ear, someone was trying to do something which Akane did not want.

He nosed open the door and peeked inside. He saw a couple of pairs of lower legs protruding over the edge of a bed. Stepping into the room, he hopped up onto a desk chair and looked over toward the bed. He nearly fainted upon seeing Ranma lying beside Akane, both of them topless, and Ranma's hands were behaving in an entirely inappropriate manner. It was no wonder that Akane was complaining! With an angry squeal, P-chan leaped onto the bed and sank his teeth into Ranma's forearm.

Ranma cried out in pain, made all the worse by its contrast with how he had been feeling a moment before. He shook the pig off, throwing him into the far wall, while shouting, "Damn it, Ryoga! What's your problem?"

Akane sat up, not bothering to cover herself, smothering a laugh at her pet's jealousy. "Oh my, poor P-chan. I guess he didn't like what mommy was doing. Is your arm okay, Ranma?"

P-chan, slightly dazed from his collision with the wall, was having a little trouble interpreting these words. They didn't quite fit with what he had thought was going on. After checking that the skin was unbroken and Ranma would suffer nothing worse than a bruise, Akane turned to cast a smile on her pet, preparing to pick him up and comfort him.

However, something stopped her. Something that was slightly off. Not so many days ago, this would have seemed like a normal occurrence. Ranma was jealous of her little pig and was constantly picking on him. This would upset her, and she'd bash him for it, to make him stop. But hadn't they started to leave such behavior behind? Ranma had called her pet 'Ryoga.' Why was he still being so childish as to tease and pick on her pet P-chan?

For some reason, this thought nagged at her, and she sat there unmoving, scratching at it like an itch. She looked at Ranma, nursing his sore arm and casting a black glare upon the pig. She looked over at P-chan, who was glaring back just as blackly, a bump rising on his forehead and a yellow neckerchief tied around his neck.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. The neckerchief. There was something important there. Something it reminded her of. Where did P-chan get it? She hadn't given it to him, he had always had it. It never needed to be retied, or straightened, or replaced, either. She was suddenly sure that she had seen that neckerchief somewhere else, and shoved her fists against her eyes as she struggled to remember. With a sense of relief, it finally came to her. It looked exactly like Ryoga's bandanna.

Akane paused, feeling the first hint of alarm in the distance. She turned and stared at Ranma again. There had been nothing teasing in his voice. There had only been anger when he called her pig 'Ryoga.' She remembered him saying that there was something complicated he needed to explain about the arguments he had with Ryoga. She turned back to her pet, chin trembling, refusing to believe. "Ryoga?" she questioned, wanting to ask what Ranma meant, fearing to hear what he would say. She watched in dismay as the pig's eyes grew wide in fright upon hearing the name.

Akane suddenly covered her chest with an arm. Disdaining her bra, she picked up her shirt with the other hand, and pulled it on quickly. "Please explain, Ranma," she requested quietly. "Why do you always call my pet Ryoga?"

"I think you already know, Akane," he told her equally quietly. "You just don't want to believe it. Not that I blame you. I told you there was something I wanted to tell you, once I figured out how. My biggest problem was I swore an oath that I wouldn't tell anyone about it, before you adopted P-chan."

Her voice was fierce, tears showing at the corners of her eyes. "Say it Ranma! I need to hear it!"

Ranma's words came wearily. "Ryoga has a Jusenkyo curse, and blames me for it. He turns into a small black pig. P-chan is Ryoga's cursed form."

P-chan's head had been swiveling back and forth, following this conversation. At these words, common sense caught up with him and presented a vision of the immediate future. He squealed in fright and bolted for the door, trying to spot an exit. He could worry about hot water later!

Akane's battle aura blazed forth, but Ranma's strong arms wrapped around her before she could give chase. "No, Akane, it ain't worth it! Besides, he's stopped doing it. Think! P-chan hasn't been in your bedroom since Jusendo! The couple of times the pig has showed up here since then have been by accident. Each time, as soon as he changed back, he asked me to help him find Akari's place." He paused, and his voice took on a considering tone. "Which ain't necessarily to say we didn't fight, Ryoga and I do tend to rub each other the wrong way."

Through clenched teeth, Akane asked, "And you expect me to simply forgive him for what he did?"

Ranma shook his head, continuing to hold her tight. "No. I don't expect you to forgive him. For that matter, I doubt that Ryoga expects you to forgive him. He treated you wrong, plain and simple. But he has stopped. If you're gonna bash him, make sure it's for what he did then, and not for what he's doing now. Besides, Akari would be unhappy if you killed him."

Akane took a deep breath, then a second, and a third. "All right. Please let go now. You and I _are_ going to discuss this again, later!"

Ranma winced, then followed her out. They found Nabiki in the family room, staring outside over the engawa. "What's up, Nabiki?" Ranma asked her.

The other girl turned to regard them, then shrugged. "I was sitting here reading a magazine when a black blur passed me. It was going so fast the wind ruffled the pages. I think it might have been P-chan. Whatever it was, it jumped _over_ the wall."

Kasumi stepped in from the kitchen. "Oh! Did your pet show up again, Akane?"

"Yes," hissed Akane. "It was P-chan. Otherwise known as Ryoga Hibiki. The bastard has a Jusenkyo curse." She smiled grimly at the looks of shock on her sisters' faces. "Ranma has talked me out of killing him for the moment, but the next time he shows up here, I want him served up as pork buns!"

"Oh my!" Kasumi said, feeling dizzy. Then her face hardened, as all of the implications struck her. The normally sweet tempered woman suggested, "But perhaps we should keep him in a cage for a few weeks first, while we fatten him up. And whisper in his ear about the fate in store for him."

Ranma shuddered. He started making plans to visit the Unryu farm. It might be best if he gave Akari a warning, for her to pass along to Ryoga the next time her boyfriend showed up.

* * *

Five months passed. The autumn term at school had come and gone, and today was Christmas Eve. Akane sipped from her punch, and glanced at Ranma standing beside her, looking very handsome in his tuxedo. She looked down at her white gown, a little self consciously, and her other hand which was tightly gripping Ranma's hand. A flash went off as Nabiki took another photograph.

The wedding ceremony had taken place two hours ago. It had been everything Akane could have hoped for, and she smiled happily at the memory. Ranma had looked incredibly nervous, which she had thought to be rather cute. She examined the gold ring on her finger. At last Akane felt like she was really married.

It had been a fairly small ceremony and reception, only about twenty guests. Ranma's mother had squeezed some money out of their fathers to help pay for it, but they hadn't felt right pressing for too much. They hadn't been able to cover much of the costs themselves, as their own income only slightly exceeded the normal household expenses. Their closer friends from school had all attended, but none of the old fiancées and rivals. They _had_ invited Ukyo, but she had declined the invitation.

Akane looked over with another happy smile to where Doctor Tofu was dancing with Kasumi. It had taken until early October before Tofu had been able to ask Kasumi out on a date, but their relationship had progressed nicely since then. Akane was one of the few people who knew that the Christmas present Tofu was planning to give to Kasumi tomorrow was an engagement ring. She was feeling very impatient for that moment to arrive so that she could squeal and congratulate them.

Although she and Ranma were going away on a honeymoon, they would be present for Tofu's proposal. They wouldn't be leaving until tomorrow afternoon. Thus they would still be here in the morning to exchange presents with everyone, and to witness that one especially important gift.

As for tonight ... Akane's belongings had already been moved, earlier today, into the bedroom she would finally share with Ranma, the bedroom they would be going to in just a few hours. It had been hard, so hard, to hold themselves back from that final step the last few months. Tonight ... oh, she was looking forward to tonight!

Then sharing Christmas morning with the family, and finally boarding a train to take a trip up north. They would be staying in an inn at a hot spring for a couple of days, then would swing by Ikawa for a day to pay a short visit to Kurosawa-sensei before coming home. Her smile dimmed slightly as she remembered the source of the funds for the trip. Akari had brought it to them, saying that it was a gift from Ryoga, offered as an apology. Akane had almost refused to accept it, but Ranma, with Nabiki's support, had talked her into relenting.

She looked over to where her mother-in-law was sitting, keeping an eye on their two fathers. Akane and Ranma had first visited their fathers in the Saotome house back in mid September, and her own father had been allowed to visit his daughters in their house on Culture Day at the beginning of November. Today was the first day that Genma Saotome had been permitted to set foot in the house again since the memorable day they had forced him to leave. She was slowly reestablishing a relationship with her own father, though she had made it clear that she was unlikely to ever entirely forgive him. Ranma had so far found it impossible to speak more than a handful of words to his own father. Shaking her head, she turned away, focusing on happier thoughts.

The newly newlywed couple shared several more dances, had more refreshments, talked and laughed with their friends and relatives, and finally said good-bye to everyone as they left. Even Nabiki and Kasumi were leaving for the night, so that Akane and Ranma could have the house to themselves. They'd be back in the morning to open presents, and to tidy up from the reception. In regard to putting off the cleaning, Akane consoled herself with the thought that Nabiki had hired some students who had already cleaned and squared everything away in the kitchen. All of the food at the reception had been served on disposable plates and the like, so there wouldn't be any dirty dishes waiting to be washed.

After seeing Akane's sisters out of the gate, the last to leave, Ranma swept Akane up into his arms and kissed her soundly once more. He then lifted her and carried her back into the house and all the way into their bedroom, settling down onto the bed with her. They were kissing eagerly, feeling the flames rising up within them once more, as they had felt so many times in the last few months. This night, however, they did not fight those flames back down. This night, at long last, they gave themselves to the fire and allowed it to consume them, burning away the last of their childhood forever.

** THE END **


End file.
